Present Day Titanic
by Pritam
Summary: An account of Rose finding the love that heals all wounds, and maturing
1. Default Chapter

Chapter I: The Meeting  
  
"Rose, honey," Ruth called out, "wake up, you'll miss your first day at school." 'Oh, great,' Rose thought silently to herself, she didn't always like going to school. She went to a private school where she had to wear a uniform every school day. This didn't go down well with a girl who liked to wear tees, macro minis, tube tops, jeans, and summer dresses, as well as trendy pants, and other clothes. Sometimes, she just felt like making a fashion statement by coming into homeroom wearing a halter top and a black and short mini skirt, at least, it'd get the boys' attention...  
  
"ROSE, honey, I said come down, you HAVE to go to school!" Ruth, Rose's mother interrupted her thoughts in mid-sentence. 'Boy,' Rose thought begrudgingly to herself, 'sometimes, my mother can be somewhat of a pester!' Her mother was always getting in her way, telling Rose what she thought Rose should do, and honestly, it got on Rose's nerves. There were many times when Rose wanted to do what she wanted to do, and not what her mother wanted to do. Rose sighed, she knew her mother meant well, and wanted the best for her daughter, what with sending Rose to fancy boarding schools all of her life. But, life had gotten hard, emotionally, and financially for Rose and her mother, since her father had died recently. Rose's father had been in business of funding dot.coms, and given the recent failure of many, Rose suspected that, somehow, the DeWitt's had been feeling the financial pinch. Now, Rose's mother never hinted of financial hardship, and financial hardship never reflected in Rose's life, but, somehow, Rose had the niggling feeling that something was not quite right, and that her mother was trying to keep something from Rose, lest it frighten Rose.  
  
Rose realized that when she graduated from high school, she would have to find a job. It wasn't a personal issue of finding independence, it was an issue of helping out at home. Her mother would be better off if she didn't have to help Rose pay for college, and Rose had no intention of burdening her mother. Rose sighed as she looked outside of the window. She was 17, she had just turned 17, and she was a senior in high school. She would graduate from the K-12 system by the end of the year, and not only would she be an adult, looking to go to college, she would be free! She realized that graduating from high school and turning 18, thereby acquiring the legal status of an adult had not only legal implications of being free, it had emotional, and spiritual ones as well! From now on, she would be free to make her own decisions as she pleased, and she would be free to think and act exactly as she pleased. This thought so intoxicated Rose, that at times, she could barely think.  
  
Rose sighed as her mind wandered, 'then there's the issue of love.' she thought to herself, sighing bitterly in frustration. 'Imagine, I'm 17, and about to be let on the world as a full-fledged and mature adult and I have never felt love, let alone, mature love! Damnit! Half of my friends are either engaged or married, and the other half are going steady, and I'm still a spinstress. It's not fair, when does my time come?' This issue had plagued Rose from time to time like heartache. Actually, it stung at her heart, as a thorn would, and it was like a festering wound that would never go away, and that just grew and left a burning and gaping hole deep in her heart in the process. For years, Rose had pined to feel love, the love that would allow her to gain wisdom and insight into herself, 'just one encounter would be enough for me, that's all I would need, no more..' Rose would often find herself saying internally. There was no point in telling her mother about this, her mother would simply say, "Now, Rose, you have your whole life to think about such things, it's best not to be bogged down by such things when you're young." Honestly, sometimes, parents can be such help!  
  
Well, it was time to go to school, so Rose put on her long, dark, navy blue dress, with the sailor pinafore on top of it. I'd like to meet the idiot who thought we'd look cute in sailor uniforms,' Rose thought bitterly to herself. Honestly, Rose would rather wear a cute sweater and low cut jeans to school, along with tennis shoes, and not this get up!  
  
Well, Rose grabbed her knapsack, and flew down the stairs. She had made a personal promise to herself not to be a baby and take the bus to school, so she walked. She opened the front door, and took great care to lock it behind her. She remembered that her mother always threw a fit when she failed to do so. She had walked no more than a few steps away from her door, when she saw a car pull up. IT was Mandy! Mandy said, "hey Rose, you look very lonely, would you like a ride to school?" Boy would she! Rose eagerly hopped in the passenger seat of the car. Rose curiously stared out the car window, as she always did when she wasn't driving. Five minutes went by, and they were at school. "Rose," Mandy asked, "You have your license, why don't you drive to school." Rose quietly mumbled under her breath, "I was getting late for school, and I didn't want to take my car out of the garage." Mandy said, "Well, if you ever need another ride to or from school, just holler." Rose said, "Thanks." Both of them got out of the car.  
  
Rose walked down the lawn to the foyer, where all of the lockers were. She had to put her knapsack and lunch and other belongings in her locker. The teachers in homeroom only allowed students to have pens, erasers, pencils, and binders in homeroom. They were quite finicky about this as well, and wrote up any student who did not comply. Rose looked up, and was quite taken by amazement. Suddenly, she saw a very charming, attractive, and romantic man standing right in front of her. Her heart fluttered, and her head spun and whirred with excitement. She could feel her body temperature dropping, and her palms become quite sweaty. This man was wearing tailored, smart, black dress clothes. 'Why, he looks like a gentleman from old days,' Rose excitedly thought to herself, 'Oh my god, is he my Prince Charming, I never believed a story book romance could actually happen, is he going to be the one who sweeps me off of my feet!"  
  
The man approached her, he smiled, and gave her a very charming smile, "Hello, my name is Cal Calvert he said, how do you do, my lady?" HE was looking quite flirtatively in Rose's eyes, and this made her heart melt. She stuttered, "My, my name is Rose!" She could feel the words gush awkwardly out of her mouth. Rose looked at Cal up close. He cut a devilishly romantic figure. HE was quite seductive, and had a way to drive a lady crazy by just looking at her. He had piercing dark eyes, that just seemed to stare right at a person's soul. He had black hair that was smartly cut to give him a very sexy look. And the way he carried himself, it just made Rose faint. Rose could sense that there was something devilish about him, and this made her even more excited about meeting him. Rose giggled in glee. Cal looked her straight in the eye with his romantic eyes, "so, I suppose we should meet over lunch in the foyer, I suppose it's a date." Then he smiled and gave Rose a look that made her heart run. Rose sighed. She walked to homeroom feeling as though she was on cloud nine.  
  
Rose was about to realize, over the course of a year that looks and appearances can be deceiving. IF she had not been so overcome by Cal's outward appearances, she would have caught on to the fact that there was something about him that was just not right, just not decent. The fact that she could sense that there was something devilish about him should have given it away. But Rose was too smitten by the fact that she had finally met her man to care too much. But then Rose was young and naieve, and no one had taught her to watch out for wolfs in life, this was just something that she would have to learn by herself. After all, it was going to be an experience that would make her the independent woman she so longed to be! In the process, Rose would find out what true love was and meant, and she would find out some interesting surprises about life as well, that would mature her and make her grow. 


	2. Present Day Titanic 2

Beware of the feelings you get when you fall in love, there are many illusions in life, and this is can be one of them.  
  
Rose would have been well-placed if she had known this proverb that Indian and ancient sages have known for thousands of years. This knowledge was so much basic instinct to our ancestors, it served as intuition for them, as much as being able to communicate with the spiritual realm did as well. If Rose had known about the spiritual realm, she could have saved herself a lot of pain and heartache, but some people are destined to learn their lessons the hard way.  
  
Rose walked into homeroom feeling very elated. 'My goodness,' she thought to herself, 'but these are quite strong feelings that I feel. For the first time in my life, I feel as though I was free and independent. For some strange reason, I feel as though I am floating on a very wonderful cloud. I feel as though I am on cloud nine, I feel eternal bliss, and my heart sings a thousand words of, of.LOVE?' Rose pondered to herself, well.she thought to herself, this was certainly a new feeling! Love, of all things! This was an awakening revelation to a person who had thought that love was out of her reach. It was her first experience, and for her, it was quite intoxicating. She sat in homeroom, her eyes floating away, she was caught in a stead fast day dream, where she was on the beach with Cal, and they were frolicking and having all of the fun in the world! She thought to herself, quite excited, 'well, I'll get to have lunch with this mystery man, what fun!'  
  
"ROSE," Mrs. Taggrt called out, "why do you not answer my question when I call on you?" Rose awakened from her stupor quite shocked, "Why.Mrs. Taggrt." she gasped, very shocked, "I had no idea you were calling on me!" Mrs. Taggrt said, "Rose, if you wish to pass this class, I suggest you stop daydreaming, and you start paying attention to the lessons!" Rose meekly replied, in a very put off manner, "Yes, Mrs. Taggrt." Rose felt very dejected, until she got up to get a drink of water. As she was passing by the students' various desks, a drawing on a desk caught her eye. One young man had a picture of her and him on a boat, sailing away. The picture was drawn so vividly that it looked real! Rose called out, "Mrs. Taggrt, I think you should see this!" Mrs. Taggrt curiously moved Rose's way, and she looked down at the drawing, she said, "Why, Jack Dawson, your artwork is amazing, you show the subjects and ambience with such clarity, it is almost as if you can see the essence of people, and life, and can capture both in drawings. Your drawings appear to have a real spirit." For reasons unknown to Rose, the words real spirit captured the interest of her mind. For now, she just noted that that was a strange thing for Mrs. Taggrt, of all people, given how practical minded she was, to say. "But," said Rose out loud to herself, "I guess everyone has their own opinions."  
  
Rose went outside for a drink of water. She did not know that Cal was secretly watching her every move, eyeing her like a hawk would his prey. She came back and sat down. Mrs. Taggrt let home room out, and then it was lunch time. Unusual for Rose, instead of bolting out the door immediately, she sat down at her desk in deep pensive thought. Jack moved up to her desk, Jack said, "Rose, I'm glad you said what you did today." Rose turned around, in complete shock, "Jack, what did you say?" Jack repeated himself, "Rose, I'm glad you noticed me, no one ever does. I was quite touched when you showed my artwork to Mrs. Taggrt and had her complement it. It meant a lot for me, it was the first time that anyone has ever said any thing good about my work." Rose muttered, blushing, "Oh, Jack, think nothing of it, it's just artwork, it's no big deal." Jack interjected, "Rose, you don't understand, for me, this is not just paint on paper, for me, it's my life, it's me, it's how I express myself!" Rose said, "Well, I had a lunch date with someone today, but I think you should come along." Jack obliged, and both of them got up and walked out of the room.  
  
They barely stepped out of the door, when Cal was there. Rose was shocked, "Cal," she gasped in amazement, "I don't understand, I thought you said you'd meet me in the foyer." Cal said, "yes, but wouldn't you like to be escorted instead?" Rose said, "Cal, I'm not a baby, I'm quite capable of taking care of myself." Cal said, "Yes, but you're a lady, and you should be treated as one." Cal looked at Jack and sniffed at him in contempt, and looked at him as though to Cal, he was road kill. Cal said, in a slightly raised and irritated voice, "Rose, who is this person you're bringing along." He placed emphasis on the word person, to indicate that he didn't think highly of Jack. Rose said, "Well, Jack's a friend of mine, and I think he should come along." "NO," Cal said, in a slightly raised and irritated voice, "THIS IS MY DATE, and ONLY YOU can come along!" He said in a tone that reflected slight irritation. Rose said, "Please, there is no need to get upset." Cal said in a tone that expressed anger suppressed, "I'm not upset, I'm just telling you my opinions!"  
  
Cal whisked Rose away on his arm, and Jack sighed in dismay. Somewhere, deep down inside, he could sense that there was something about Cal that just wasn't right. Cal appeared to be charming on the surface, but it was obvious, by the way that he talked, that he was capable of being very violent. Jack sensed something evil and unjust in Cal. Jack would learn that he would have to make sacrifices to get Rose to see the truth in this relationship. Jack was wondering why Rose wasn't seeing the obvious in Cal, but Jack didn't realize that not everyone has the ability to see, as he did, and this ability to see would cost him dearly. 


	3. Present Day Titanic 3

Chapter III: Rose and Cal talk, and It isn't pretty  
  
Well, Jack sighed, his feelings were hurt. This time, it felt as though Cal had really hit deep and hard when he told Rose that Jack wasn't invited to their lunch date. Jack thought to himself, "I guess I had this coming, I mean Cal had wanted Rose to come on the date solo, and I'd really be interfering, but the moment I lay my eyes on that wonderful lady, something clicked in me, all of a sudden, I felt alone and empty, and I felt as though she was the one for me. For some reason, Cal wasn't just hurting me or my feelings when he told me I was worthless, he was trying to insult me, and it hurt!" Jack felt visibly confused. He had been around mean people all his life. He had never known his biological parents, and he had been shuffled around foster homes for almost all of his 17 years. He knew what it felt like to not be appreciated by others, and he had learned, by now to put up and shut up, to 'get over it' so to speak, but this time, he felt that Cal had gone a bit too far, he felt that Cal had hit where it hurt, and that he had gotten personal.  
  
However, Cal did not see it that way. Cal was firmly holding Rose's arm, so firm that Rose swore that iron bands were gripping her right arm, instead of Cal's hand. Cal was walking so fast he was almost running. Then he plunked Rose down on the first visible bench so violently that her body bounced up. Rose's bones jangled, because the blow was so hard. She felt like she had just been punched, or handled roughly somehow. Rose felt very confused, 'why is a Don Juan treating me in this rough manner. I mean I've read romance novels, and I've heard about my friends' romances and romantic relationships, and it isn't supposed to be like this!' However, Rose forgot all of her confusion when she looked into Cal's deep eyes. Somehow, for all of his rough treatment and arrogance, Rose could sense a sort of warmth, and depth in Cal's seductive brown eyes. Their colour reminded her of a cappuccino, so deep, rich, warm, seductive, and sexy. She could feel a warmth rising within her body, and warming all of her organs. Her heart began to melt, and she felt a warm flush and glow come over her face. Her cheeks were blushing with the hues and colour of love. Her face automatically broke out into a smile, and she said quite huskily, "I love you, Cal." Cal leaned in toward her in a very romantic manner that made her heart melt, and made her quickly forget about the rotten way he had just treated her, "I love you too, my lady!" He told her in a very seductive voice, that had a sort of naughty undertone. Unfortunately, Rose was not old enough to differentiate between the tone that implied the benign and the evil sort of naughtiness, or else, she would have been able to sense that Cal was not up to any good.  
  
Rose, however, decided to ask Cal for some clarification as to why he had shined off Jack. She could understand Cal's sentiment that since Cal had asked Rose out for a date, there was no place for Jack, but she could not understand why Cal had decided to shine Jack on. "Cal," she said, "I wonder why you told Jack what you did, I think it was very rude of you, and I could tell, by judging the look on his face, and the way that he was acting after you said what you did, that he was hurt. I think what you did was very mean, and not gentleman like!" Rose stopped at her last three words, did she say 'not gentleman like!' she was very surprised, because she had not had the concept of that, at least, not until now. Cal's eyes flashed with anger, that familiar ominous yellow light that flashes in peoples' eyes when they're miffed appeared in Cal's eyes. He retorted, "Oh, I see, so you think some low-class person who is rude enough to think he can tag along on a pre-established date should get higher priority over a lady. I tell you, there are some people who are absolutely vile, and have no dignity or compulsions. I thought that it was quite crass that Jack decided to 'crash' our date, and I decided to tell him so!' Rose immediately sat up straight, 'low-class person!' That was certainly not the impression of Jack that she had gotten. She was quite touched by him, especially when she saw the picture of her and him on the boat. She felt that he had real talent, and that he was full of emotion, and the ability to relate to others in very special and personal ways. He must, otherwise, he would never have been capable of painting a picture of them in the boat. Anyway, Mrs. Taggrt had mentioned that Jack had the ability to see, which was strange for Mrs. Taggrt, because she usually didn't talk about such things. Usually, it was Rose who did all of the daydreaming, much to Mrs. Taggrt's consternation. Rose said, "Cal, I think you're being a bit presumptious, I think that Jack is a very decent and distinguished man, with lots of class and talent." Cal's eyes flashed even more violently now, "Rose" he said, "please, trust me, Jack is a NO ONE, he comes from NO WHERE, I have met his type of people before, they are NOTHING, please DON"T delude yourself, Jack is a PERSON WHO SHOULD BE IGNORED, he is NOTHING AND HE WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING." Rose timidly muttered, "All-right, as you wish."  
  
The waitress came by their table, and Rose was feeling quite hungry, so she got out her menu, and she began to order food. She said, in her quite non chalant way, "Well, I'd like to have a hamburger and fries." No sooner had she finished uttering these words than Cal interjected, Cal said, "What are you doing? That is not the fare for a lady." Then he looked at the waitress, and he said, "Pardon me, she'll have the French onion soup, and the filet mignion and the champagne." The waitress looked confused, she stepped back, and then she turned to Rose, and she said, "Is this what you want m'am?" Rose felt quite confused, and this reflected in her voice, as she muttered, "I guess." Then Cal said, "I'll have the prime steak well done, and some nice wine." The waitress took the orders, and then went back to the kitchen. Rose glared at Cal and said, "Cal, why did you interrupt me, why do you think you know what I like?" Cal replied, "You are a lady, and you must act like one, what you were ordering is not what a lady eats." Rose thought to herself, "Like I give a damn about what a lady eats, damnit, I want to be myself. I'm starting to feel a little uncomfortable around this guy." But then Cal flashed one of his smiles at her, and she forgot all about her feelings and uncertainties about Cal, and she began to fall in love with Cal once more.  
  
Well, the waitress came with the food, and they ate, and then Cal paid the check, and he motioned Rose to get up, but Rose said in a very determined voice, "No, I think I'll stay here for a while, I want to rest before I go back to class, I ate quite a lot." Cal said, "As you wish, my lady."  
  
Now, Rose had time alone to herself, and a lot of thoughts began to rush into her mind. For the first time in her life, she felt very confused. This was a new feeling for her, it was a feeling that none of her friends had ever told her about. Her impressions about love from them was that love was just something that was wonderful that made you feel good all of the time, and that was synonymous to floating on a candy cloud. Well, she was definitely not feeling good, in fact she was feeling very confused. 'Where is this relationship going?' she thought to herself. She felt quite confused, on the one hand, she had been swept off her feet and mesmerized by Cal's mannerisms and by his smile, but on the other hand, she didn't like the way he treated Jack, and she found the way he had treated her a bit off putting as well. She cringed when she thought about the words he used, "low class person, lady." She had never heard these words used before, at least not in that derogatory way, and it made her feel quite uncomfortable to be hearing these words used in that way now. She was beginning to get the idea that Cal liked to put up a lot of pretenses. Anyway, she was beginning to wonder if Cal judged people on the social class they came from, and how much money they had, and not on what their personality was like, and who they really were. She thought that Jack was a very decent person, never mind the fact that he appeared to come from a low class background. 'To hell with it,' she thought to herself defiantly, 'I'd rather date a poor but decent person, than date a rich asshole!' She also didn't like the way that Cal tried to make up her mind for her, especially when she was ordering food. She thought it was pathetic that he justified all of his crass actions, including ordering food for her, without first consulting her with the fact that she was a lady, and should act like one, and should be treated like one. She didn't know much about what a lady should be like, but she did know that she didn't like rules. 'Boy,' she though to herself, 'if that's what a lady should act like, then I want no part of it.' But at the same time, she could feel her self becoming quite curious as to what a lady should be like. As for Cal, she was beginning to wonder if he wasn't really some sort of control freak. She was a very independent minded girl who liked her freedom, and believed in doing what a person thought and knew was right, and she was beginning to think, that far from doing what he thought was right in his heart, Cal did what he thought society thought he should do. This didn't sit well with Rose, because she never cared about what society thought she should do, in fact her favourite line was, 'to hell with society, I'll do as I please.' On the other hand, Jack appeared to be a man who did what he thought was right in his heart. Rose never had given art much thought, but it was that picture, that was so vivid, it looked like it was real that Jack had drawn that was catching Rose's mind now. Rose reflected back on the picture, and she realized that there had been a lot of emotion in the drawing. She had noticed something else in the drawing, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Rose did not realize it at the time, but she was beginning to get in touch with her emotions, and she was finding the experience to be very tumultuous and confusing, to say the least. Rose knew that she wanted to get to know more of Jack, because, to her, he seemed to be a very interesting person. 


	4. Present Day Titanic 4

Chapter III: Rose Contemplates Cal  
  
"Frummph." Rose said out loud to herself. She stared down at her watch, "My God!" She said, "it's time for me to go to class!" She got up from her table, and she walked to class. As she was walking down the hallway to her next class, however, her mind was spinning and buzzing with a multitude of thoughts. She felt very dizzy and confused. She felt so confused, that she could feel her neck muscles tightening, and the muscles on her forehead beginning to tingle, then it hit! "AAH." she screamed out in pain, she had a TENSION HEADACHE!  
  
She walked into Biology class, the Latin meaning of the name was 'the study of life,' for her, it was more like 'an hour from hell!' Despite Mr. Drew's constant attempts to have her pay attention to his labourous description of the functions of the cell, which included DNA transcription by mRNA, Rose found her mind wandering, her thoughts consisting of her budding relationship with Cal. Rose figured she didn't need Biology anyway, she didn't like science, and planned on going to a junior college, whose admission boards were not nitpicky about grades and classes. Anyway, Mr. Drew gave Rose a dirty look, and he said, "Rose, I hope, for your sake, you GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER. I mean, next year, you'll HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!" His words had no effect on Rose.  
  
Rose still felt as though she was in a state of confusion, as she got up out of her chair. Mandy greeted her. Mandy walked with her out of the door. She said, "I don't get it Rose, how come you NEVER pay attention in class?" It was to this question that Rose replied, "Mandy, you don't get it, WE DON'T need Biology. I don't understand why you ALWAYS go ALONG WITH THE SYSTEM?" Mandy gave Rose a confused look, and she said, "But Rose, don't our futures depend on how well we do in school?" Rose replied, "My dear Mandy, we ALL make our futures in different ways. It doesn't depend on your grades in school. YOUR SUCCESS IN LIFE DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU LISTEN TO YOUR HEART! NOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MR. DREW, FOR ALL OF HIS SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE, COULD NOT TEACH US. I mean, come on, DO YOU REALLY THINK WE'RE GOING TO USE ALL OF THAT CRAP they teach us? The real lessons from life come from living, and NOT FROM READING A BOOK!" Mandy paused in deep thought for a moment, then she said, "You know.I think you have a REAL point there. I mean, the counselors always tell us that 'doing well in school is important because it determines your future', but I guess if you don't live and experience the real messages in your heart, you'll never get anywhere in life." Mandy's thought process was interrupted in mid-sentence by an enlightened phrase that Rose bequeathed to her, which would change the way that Mandy thought forever!  
  
My dear Mandy, what we witness at our high school today is none other than an elabourate  
Brainwashing scheme, on the part of the seniors and the authorities to try to mould us in 'their'  
Image.  
  
Mandy froze, the words 'their image enraptured her mind, now here was a concept that she, for all of her academic ability, had never thought of before! Rose continued her thoughts  
  
You see, it is the design of the authorities to try to control the way the youth thinks, under the  
Ostensible guise of 'preparing us for the life ahead.' Do you really think that, unless we take  
Up a career in medicine, or we work in a lab, we will ever utilize the knowledge that is being  
Imparted to us in Biology, or in other classes, for that matter. You see, many of the world's  
Geniuses were failures by the standards of their nations' academic systems, yet their sense  
Of curiosity prevailed, and they were able to use their own INTELLECTUAL curiosity to  
Ask questions and find answers to them. School, for the most part, imparts a sense of  
Obedience in the system, and nothing more. It attempts to pass along some of the skills  
Students are perceived to need, but fails miserably. School teaches conformity and adherence  
To standards, yet life is about none of this. An adept person who is capable of critical thinking  
And analysis will be able to, quickly, imbibe the knowledge that is imparted to us in class. In  
Fact, at this school, and at many others, knowledge is not imparted, rather, a lot of meaningless  
Facts are bestowed upon us, which we are obliged to make sense out of, out of our own mechanisms.  
Life is unscripted, and it is as much about gleaning information 'from tea leaves' as it is about  
Reading between the lines. You CAN'T LEARN HOW TO DO THAT FROM READING A BOOK!  
TO KNOW HOW TO HANDLE LIFE, YOU MUST LIVE IT, BECAUSE LIFE IS THE GREATEST  
AND MOST IMPORTANT TEACHER WE WILL EVER HAVE. I CAN NAME A LOT OF PEOPLE  
WHO WERE SUCCESSFUL ACADEMICALLY, YET FAILED IN BEING SUCCESSFUL AT LIFE,  
AND THUS, WERE RENDERED TO THE 'HAS BEEN' GARBAGE PILE OF LIFE, AND I CAN  
TELL YOU OF NUMEROUS PEOPLE WHO DID NOT EXCEL ACADEMICALLY, YET BECAME  
FAMOUS DUE TO THEIR ABILITY TO EXCEL IN LIFE. EINSTEIN IS ONE SUCH EXAMPLE!  
  
Mandy stopped and a dumb founded look came over her face. She said in a very quiet tone, "I see what you mean, and I think you're right. For all of my academic ability, I have been missing out on the best of life!" Then Mandy looked at Rose with a gleam in her eye, and she said, "so, what were you thinking about in Biology class, I know it COULDN'T be DNA transcription."  
  
Rose's brow became furled, as though she was going through a difficult time in her life. A look of concern appeared over her face, and she said, in a troubled voice, "well it's about Cal." It was at this point in time that Mandy's voice jumped up, and she squealed in delight, "OH MY GOD! You're dating Caledon Hockley? You LUCKY girl, I mean, I would KILL to date HIM. You GODDESS, you don't KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE! Tell, tell." Suddenly, a lump formed in Rose's throat, and she looked at Mandy in disbelief, 'I don't believe it.' she thought, 'she's just as brainwashed by image and status as everyone else is! I mean, Cal's a jerk, he's no gentleman, I'd rather date JACK! But, I guess Mandy, and the other girls are too enamoured by status to look at the true quality of a person!' To confirm her suspicion, in much the same way that a scientist conducts experiments to confirm hypotheses, Rose asked Mandy, "Mandy, why do you think Cal's hot stuff?" Mandy responded, "Isn't it obvious? I mean, he's RICH, he's POPULAR, he comes from the WHO'S WHO OF SOCIETY, and he's WELL-CONNECTED!" Mandy shrieked in delight. Rose stared away at the buildings in deep contemplation, and she responded, "Oh.,. I see." Mandy looked at Rose in concern, "Is there anything wrong?" Rose sighed and she said, "nothing, it's just that.Oh never mind, you wouldn't understand."  
  
Mandy grabbed Rose's hand in desperation, as though she wanted Rose to bear her heart to her. Rose glared at Mandy, and it was the look that burned in Rose's eyes that made Mandy take a few steps back. Mandy thought she was taking just 3 or 4 steps back, but she must have miscounted, because she almost fell off of the stairs. 'OOH.' Mandy exclaimed as she grabbed at the rail in a struggle for balance. Mandy was concerned, confused, and afraid! She had never seen such a burning glare in anyone's eyes before, let alone Rose's. Rose appeared to be such a cordial person, however, now, Rose's, normally, deep blue and expressive eyes burned with a very determined and intense yellow flame. Mandy couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she could sense that there was something spiritual about the flame that burned in Rose's eyes. Mandy knew that Rose was rebellious, but, Mandy could sense that there was something stirring in Rose, some sort of ancient and feral spirit, that was JUST WAITING TO ESCAPE, GIVEN THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY! Rose's eyes were on fire now, and the intense yellow flame that was now burning in her eyes appeared to emanate from the depths of her soul? The light illuminated her eyes, and brought out a strange amber hue to them. Mandy had never seen such a look in anyone's eyes before in her life. If Mandy didn't know better, she could swear that somehow, Rose was not human, rather, she was some sort of SPIRIT!  
  
Mandy may have been more academically inclined, but she was far from a geek. She said, "Rose, I don't get it, from the look in your eyes, I can sense that something's not up." Now Mandy was cowering, and she was looking at Rose with a very timid look in her green eyes. When Rose looked into Mandy's eyes, she could see that the flame of life that burned in everyone's eyes had been virtually extinguished in Mandy's eyes. Then Mandy, timidly whispered, "What's wrong, there's something that I'm not getting. For once, I don't want to be the one who's left in the dark!"  
  
Rose replied, "Mandy, you may express desire for change, but you wouldn't understand what's going on. Don't ask any more questions, just leave it at that." With that, Rose determinedly walked away from Mandy in a 60 degree angle, and in a vector whose direction extended towards the North East. Rose was, geometrically speaking, walking away from Mandy into a different plane. Plane geometry, and Multi-variable calculus tell us that the world is divided into many planes. Everything that moves on this Earth, according to both of the disciplines can be described as a variable, or an object, whose movement can be described as a vector with magnitude (movement that can be measured) and direction (that can be measured on an abstract numerical line). Different objects move in different pre- determined directions. An object can move in vectors whose paths extend according to the dimensions of height, width, and length, and sometimes, an object can move in more than one direction simultaneously. Those of us who remember plane geometry will know that the movements of vectors are actually angles, and that different objects can move in a variety of different angles, which are known as angle sets. Every object has different angle sets, which are predetermined by the maker, which it moves in. Also, every object moves in certain sub planes. A discipline, called chaos theory, which is a part of quantum physics says that every moving object (living and non-living) in the universe behaves in ways that can be modeled by calculus. In other words, every moving object's movement can be described by equations. Sometimes, certain constants, which we know as 'unforeseen events' and as actions by other moving objects, can enter into the equations, that both describe objects' movements, and influence their movement and growth and development (in the case of living organisms). These can change the nature of equations, and thus, they can change the development of living things. In the 1960's, the noted physicist, Edward Lorenz, discovered this phenomena, and used the phrase, 'a flap of a butterfly wing in Mexico can start a blizzard in Russia' to describe this phenomena, which stated that seemingly unrelated phenomena, no matter how small in origin, can affect many systems at once, reverbrate off of them, and cause huge unforeseen events. This was happening between Rose and the rest of the student body, both emotionally, and spiritually. Cal had been the unforeseen event, and the constant, who by meeting, and spending time with Rose, had served to affect the equations that could model the patterns and frequency (read probability and mathematical modeling here) of Rose's emotional and spiritual thought processes. The result had been that Rose's spirit and emotional frame set were changing, and hence, so were the equations that would describe the behaviour, in relation to the rest of the student body, whose spiritual and emotional frame sets were not changing. This was putting Rose on a different spiritual and astral plane, as well.  
  
As Rose walked away, she could feel a milleu of thoughts whirring in and out of her mind, which served as the locus for these seemingly varied and unrelated thoughts. For Rose, one thought served to spawn another controversial one. Though Rose did not realize it, she was witnessing chaos theory at work, because every thought served to change the way Rose thought forever! Here is what Rose was thinking, 'I DON'T get this! I mean, I THOUGHT Cal WAS HOT STUFF. There was something about the way he looked at me, the way his eyes met mine, which told me that he WAS mine, or so I thought. I just don't get what's going on. I mean, on the one hand, I FEEL as though I'm in LOVE with him, but something DEEP DOWN inside tells me that HE IS NOT THE ONE FOR ME! This is very confusing for me, and it would help if I could get SOME support from MY friends, but none of them SEEM to understand what I'm SEEING. They're too smitten by Cal's outward and supposedly gentlemanly appearance to understand that DEEP DOWN INSIDE, HE'S NO GOOD! I mean I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHO I CAN CONFIDE IN for THIS EARTHSHATTERING MOMENT. IT IS MOMENTS LIKE THESE, and NOT LEEWONHOEK discovering bacteria cells that are REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE. YET NO ONE SEEMS TO UNDERSTAND THAT! Who can I tell my thoughts to?'  
  
It was chilly, because it was late in the fall, and Rose was huffing. Her cheeks were a bright pink colour, to signify health. It was then that she felt a tap on her shoulder. Startled, she turned around, and she saw that it was JACK! "Why, Jack," she spat out, startled, "what brings you here?" Jack looked at her with a genuine look of concern in his deep and mysterious blue eyes, as he said, "I sensed you were in pain and needed help, what's wrong?"  
  
Rose sighed, this phenomena was blowing her mind, she wasn't quite sure how she could relay her problems to Jack, but, she thought to herself, 'I guess there's a first time for EVERYTHING!' 


	5. Present Day Titanic 5

CH 5: Rose Connects to Jack on the Spiritual Plane  
  
Rose turned around, and looked at Jack. Her eyes were lowered, because she did not want to let Jack in on what she was feeling. She sighed, because she was feeling so confused. Suddenly, thoughts were just rushing in and out of her mind, seemingly popping out of other 'places', or so that was how she referred to them, because she had never felt thoughts such as the ones she was experiencing now. She didn't even know how to explain what she was feeling, because they felt so bizarre! She thought to herself, 'If I can simply talk without looking him straight in the eye, I can, hopefully confuse him, so that he will go away!'  
  
Jack, however, could sense that Rose was in pain, and was experiencing a great degree of confusion. Somehow, something deep down inside just TOLD him this. 'Rose - " he said, his voice trailing, "Rose, honey, what's wrong?" Jack tried to lower his head so that he could at least ascertain the expression on her face. But to no avail! Rose was moving her lowered head away from Jack's direction, as though she was deliberately attempting to avoid making any type of contact with Jack, for some strange reason! Jack was caught in a quandary, he thought to himself, 'there's got to be a way I can reach out to her. I mean, I KNOW something's bothering her, but I'm not sure WHAT!'  
  
Jack knew the proverbial saying that spiritual bards, seers, archaeologists, mathematicians, and biologists have known for centuries; the eyes are the gateway to the soul. Armed with this knowledge, he, gently placed his hand underneath Rose's chin, which was in a supine position. Her head was lowered, so that the top of her skull was slanted at a 45-degree angle in relation to the ground. Anyone who has ever watched rainfall will know that rain falls to the ground at this exact angle. Her chin was so close to the front of her neck, that it almost touched her neck. Her chin was making a 10-degree angle in relation to her neck. Spiritual seers of the soul recognize this posture as a sign of self- resignation, or a sign of confusion. A person who is emotionally and spiritually self-confident will hold the head in an upright position, on the vertical plane of spirituality, and will have an eye gaze that is perfectly horizontal in its path with the horizon. The ancients would have said that a spiritually content person will look another right in the eye, and will make eye contact with the horizon in a straight line, or a 180- degree angle. Jack gently lifted Rose's head, and made direct eye contact with her eyes.  
  
Jack was overwhelmed by what he saw. Being a natural born artist, it was second intuition to him that the shape of the eye is in the geometric shape of the vesica Pisces. Ancient artists were quite familiar with sacred geometry, which is the study of the numerical and geometric nature of such things in nature as: flowers, and shells. Ancient artists believed that it was these geometric patterns that connected all living things to the greater cosmos of the universe, which they believed was God. Jack, as an artist, understood that there was an uncanny and precise order to things in nature. He could see this when he painted. He noticed that he was constantly using measurements by the ratio of: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, when he painted. He also used straight lines, and angles a lot. For him, it was second nature, and he noticed that there was a numerical and precise, and a mathematical order to nature, because it became obvious in measurement, when he painted. However, he could sense a greater spirituality, and harmony, and aesthetic ness to everything he painted. It was his aim to tell a story, and to express emotions, and feelings, and to create an esoteric and pleasurable feeling in people when they looked at his paintings. He, always felt that there was a certain sort of emotion, of feeling, or esoteric and aesthetic quality in nature, and he felt that there was a sort of spiritual quality to nature, that appeared to emanate from the mathematical nature of everything in nature, and appeared to tie all that was found in nature together into a larger picture, and give it meaning in a larger and beautiful framework, which he surmised had been created by A HIGHER SPIRITUAL POWER! Jack always felt he had accomplished his goals if people, by viewing his paintings, were brought to a higher spiritual plane of realization. In any case, when he looked in Rose's eyes, he noticed that it was in the perfect shape of the vesica Pisces, which is the almond shape that is formed when one will draw one circle of equal measurement in the center of another circle. Jack knew that it is quite awe inspiring and scintillating to look at. However, he was drawn into the center of Rose's soul via the vast blueness of her eyes. Her eyes were a very deep blue colour, which appeared to have no end. Also, her eyes were so rich and meaningful in colour, and depth, that they appeared to tell a story of some sort. Jack swore, by looking into her eyes, that some sort of powerful and primeval spirit lay stirring, waiting to be wakened by some equally strong force, at the right time. Jack could also see the exploding pixels of colour in her eye, which served to add to the depth and the intensity of the picture. These pixels, which were caused by pigments in the eye, reminded Jack of the higher flowers that will tower above the regular weeds on a hot prairie day, thereby accosting the visitor with a wealth of clusters of extra richness of colour and background.  
  
Rose was quite taken aback by Jack's gesture, and she was shocked and startled at the same time. It was the first time anyone had been so bold enough as to forcibly inquisition her regarding her personal problems. Usually, the other classmates simply accepted responses on face value, and chose to delve no deeper. Rose still did not want to confront the painful feelings she was encountering, so she turned her head away, and said quite distantly, in a trailing voice, "nothing -." No sooner had she said that, than she felt Jack's firm grip of his left hand pull her chin to the left, so that she was making direct eye contact with him. This gesture stunned Rose, because it was the first time anyone had actually gone to such great lengths to offer her any kind of support, or to inquire into her personal problems. Rose could feel a warm sensation in her heart, because she could sense that Jack actually cared about her feelings, and this meant a lot for Rose!  
  
Jack's voice became quite firm and steely, and its tone reminded Rose of a stiff steel rod someone might use in the attempt to probe an object for valuable information. In fact, Jack's voice reminded Rose so much of a probing rod, that Rose got the feeling that Jack was trying to probe her for questions. Jack said, "Now, Rose, I know you probably think I'm some sort of jerk, what with me pushing you to the wall to try to find out what's wrong with you. And, right now, you probably resent me for it, and I don't blame you. But Rose, I got a feeling that THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT WITH YOU, AND I'M NOT RESTING UNTIL I FIND OUT WHAT'S EATING YOU. Now, I know that you probably think I'm some sort of annoying busybody by doing this, BUT I GOT THIS NIGGLING FEELING THAT THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU." Then Jack looked at Rose with a tender look, and his face reflected a look of genuine concern and care, as he said, "AND I'M NOT RESTING UNTIL I FIND OUT WHAT IT IS! HONEY, I'M HERE TO HELP YOU!" Rose noted that Jack's demeanour had given her a lot of support. Suddenly, she felt as though she was not alone in a struggle against darkness, which had just started in her life, which, even, SHE couldn't understand or identify!  
  
Rose looked down towards the ground, but this time, her gesture told Jack that she was simply confused, and needed time for contemplation, and not that she was trying to hide something from him. She said, in a very meandering voice, whose tone reflected confusion, "Well, I don't know." Then she looked up at Jack, and Jack saw immediately that her eyes reflected a sense of deep desperation, in fact, her eyes were pleading for help, from his soul. This look startled Jack, and woke up his soul. It was from that point onwards that Jack realized that there was something that was dangerous and shifty that was stalking Rose's soul, and that Rose was in constant and imminent danger from!  
  
Jasmine, the invisible soul, that presages and follows humanity in all of its endeavours, was watching the entire scene from her invisible place in the fabric of time. She knew what was going on, and she was laughing silently to herself, because she had realized, as Jack hadn't that Rose harboured a very powerful spirit, not unlike her own, which was capable of communicating with and reaching out to peoples' souls, and communicating concerns to them.  
  
Jack was not quite so spiritual, but, at that moment, something clicked for him in a far off dimension, called the spiritual realm. This change was so distant and sudden, that Jack, himself, did not realize what had happened, but he did realize that something, for him, had permanently changed, and that his life would never be the same again. He also realized that Rose needed help, and that he had to help her. Besides, when he looked into her eyes, he had been drawn into her gaze by something addictive, something enthralling, something deeper, and captivating. Something so deep that no one can identify with it, but can sense its presence, that calls out to the deeper essence of humanity, and holds it in its grasp. Jack was an artist, and therefore, he could sense the spiritual world in nature, because that was what he communicated to others in his paintings. He could sense, to some extent, the spiritual nature of others, and he had a second intuition, or a sixth sense, that simply told him when people needed help. And like a minuteman, he was always present to help people in spiritual distress sort out their needs.  
  
Rose sighed in resignation as she looked down towards the ground. Her own brain felt dizzy, what with all of those thoughts, many of which were unlike those Rose had ever experienced, and appeared to come from other thought sources, which Rose couldn't quite comprehend. How could she relay her experiences to Jack, when she herself didn't know what was going on? Well, she could give it her best shot, and she did. In determination, she raised her head, and looked at Jack with a very intense and direct eye gaze that appeared to reflect determination, and which told Jack that she was not beating around the bush this time, and that she was being very serious. She said, "Well, it's that Cal guy you met earlier today."  
  
Rose didn't have to finish her sentence. Suddenly, a thought hit Jack in his brain, as though, somehow, the thought had simply whacked the brain chemistry in Jack's brain. BANG, then, Jack volleyed in response. He felt very dizzy, and began to lower and droop his head, whilst shaking it from side to side in a sign of sheer confusion. Suddenly, Jack was losing perception of reality, as well as his balance, as though a malicious thought had suddenly hit him, throwing him off of his balance in the process. Jack was also seeing double, as he struggled to raise his head, and make eye contact. Suddenly, when he looked into Rose's eyes, instead of seeing depth, spirituality, and tranquility, he was seeing something black and evil burning, from another source, which he could not name in the middle of the irises of both of Rose's eyes. The shape of the burning black fire reminded him of the quing shape of spirituality. It started at the bottom of Rose's eyes, and made their way up to the top. But, the image was somehow, superimposed over Rose's eyes, as though something, or someone, had magically put some sort of slide projection in front of Rose's eyes, which depicted that image, so that that was all Jack saw. But Jack could see an intense, and ominous yellow background, in the shape of the eye - the visceris Pisces - surrounding the blackness, and the darkness. Jack was totally shocked. He had seen lots of meaningful things as an artist, but he had never seen anything like this before. He didn't know what to make of it! He knew ROSE COULDN"T BE EVIL, as THAT IMAGE IMPLIED!  
  
Rose noticed the distraught look on Jack's face. She studied it as best as she could. She was not into spirituality, and 'all that crap', which was how she saw it, but even she noticed that he looked as though he had just seen a ghost, and an evil one at that. Jack was making direct eye contact with Rose now, and he was shaking his head in a sign of disbelief, with a sense of resignation and disbelief written all over his face. Rose said, "What's wrong?" Jack replied, "Nothing.well, I think it had something to do with you mentioning Cal!"  
  
Rose took a few steps back, and gasped in shock. She gulped hard, and she could feel something stinging at her heart, as though her heart was being torn apart by some sort of thorn. She gasped, and began to keel over, but not quite completing the gesture, so that her chest was making a 15-degree angle in relation to the ground. She placed her hand on her heart, and made facial and bodily gestures that suggested that she was in pain. She certainly was in pain, when Jack had mentioned the word Cal, her heart felt as though it was bleeding! Jack had a look of sheer concern on his face, and he moved towards Rose, his right hand bent in an L-shape, so that he could offer Rose support and assistance, as he said, "Rose, are you ok?" Rose hovered her body, as she gasped out, "Yeah, I'm all right!" Then she straightened her posture, so that her body was in a directly vertical position, in relation to the ground, and that she was facing Jack. She said, her eyes wandering in a gesture of avoidance, "Well." Then She looked at Jack with a begging look in her eyes, and it became obvious to Jack that, somehow, without realizing it, Rose was crying out for help. Well, he surmised he'd have to help her, as that appeared to be his untold calling in life! Rose continued, "I thought I was in love with Cal." Jack noticed that she spat out the word Cal in disgust, and made a grimacing expression, as though she wished to spit out something disgusting, she continued, "But then, he started to act as though HE KNEW WHAT WAS BEST FOR ME. I MEAN, HE WAS TREATING ME LIKE A BABY, AND HE WAS ACTING AS THOUGH I COULD NOT THINK!" Jack chuckled to himself when he heard the phrase, 'as though I could not think!' He thought, 'My God! God help the person who tries to think for Rose!' Though Jack did not know Rose very well on the outside, something deep down inside told him that Rose was an independently minded person, and a fiercely rebellious person who resisted taking orders from anyone and balked at and rebuffed any attempts by anyone or ANYTHING to try to impose any semblance of authority upon her! Jack could sense this sense of rebelliousness, which burned with a red colour of determination, and 'I care a damn about anything' feeling, when he looked into her eyes. He noted that it was rare for a person to possess that sense of determination and outrage at the establishment. He knew, because he looked in many peoples' eyes before! Rose continued, she was practically shouting now, "I MEAN THE SON OF A BITCH TRIED TO ORDER DINNER FOR ME, AS THOUGH HE KNEW WHAT WAS BEST FOR ME. I THOUGHT HE WAS RUDE, AND AN ASSHOLE!" Jack noticed that Rose's eyes burned with a more intense version of the red rebelliousness that he had seen earlier. Now, this redness was more apparent, and served to take over her entire soul. Rose was now making direct and intense eye contact with Jack.  
  
Jack took a few baby steps backwards, and he puttered his right foot in the up and down direction a few times, as though he was in deep thought, as he said, "Well, I don't know much about this Cal guy, but I did guess that he was not good stuff when I first met him." Then he looked at Rose with a determination in his eyes that gave them a yellowish outline, as though his soul was attempting to emphasise the importance of his message to Rose as he said, "I mean, you'd better watch this guy. Something tells me that though, you're telling me now that you're throwing the towel in with this guy, as far as this relationship is concerned. You're not through with being 'Cal's girl'. I could sense, when I looked into your eyes, which you're still in love with the guy, that you're still drawn to the guy, however fatally. I could see in your eyes, via your expression that there's something devilish about that guy that draws you to him, like a Venus fly trap uses sweet smelling sap to pull a fly into its trap.." His voice reflected a sense of urgency as he said, "So I suggest you keep your guard up at all times when you spend time with this guy. I can sense that he's up to no good. He uses whatever's devilish about him, I guess, his charm, to attract girls to him, whom he then uses as pawns, once he's got them ensnared. Please, whatever you do don't let yourself get ensnared by him, it'll mean the end of you!"  
  
It was then, that in response to a higher spiritual power, Jack put his right hand firmly on Rose's right shoulder in a sense of support, and he said in a kind tone, while looking straight into Rose's deep blue eyes, with a piercing gaze, that was meant to penetrate and zap her soul with a potent and cryptic message, "I got to go now, but take care, ok, honey!" Rose noted that Jack's voice had dropped a few decibels when he said the word honey. Then, almost with instinct, Jack turned an about face, and he walked away from Rose in a 60 degree angle, to the South East direction, In much the same way Rose had with Mandy! Rose noticed this, much to her awe. "Hmm." Rose thought to herself, "Could there be some sort of PATTERN here?"  
  
Rose had been listening to Jack's spiritual message quite intently. Jasmine had been witnessing the entire scene from the spiritual realm, and she knew that Jack's words had resonated off of Rose's ears with a very deep echo, that was meant to penetrate Rose's soul. Jasmine sighed to herself in resignation, because she knew that, while Rose had heard Jack's message, she REALLY hadn't! Rose was left entirely unchanged by Jack's message, which had served as a warning in disguise for Rose. For Rose, the words were like repelling magnets, which had been fired at a forceful velocity from a powerful gun. These words, for Rose, had simply hit the target, her soul, slightly pierced it, and instead of entering the soul, as intended, had fallen off of the surface of Rose's soul as soon as they had hit the surface, without making any real impact on either Rose, or her soul. Jasmine lowered her head in resignation, because she knew that, 'some people are destined to learn their lessons in life the hard way!' Jasmine further thought to herself, 'No, some in this world are too headstrong and unwise to learn their lessons by example, and by wise and well-intended and directed adages. No, they aren't going to listen to reason, instead, they are going to learn all of their lessons by taking actions, which lead to mistakes that they were warned by their spiritual guides AGAINST taking. Furthermore, it's not until their lives are put into great peril, that THEY FINALLY LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES, BUT BY THEN, IT MAY BE TOO LATE. Well, that's Rose for you. She's got to LEARN ALL OF HER LESSONS BY DOING, AND NOT BY HEARING. I KNOW THAT ROSE IS DIRECTION AVERSE, BUT SHE DOESN'T REALIZE THAT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU JUST DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT LIFE TO LET YOUR HEART ACT AS YOUR ABSOLUTE GUIDE, AND IT'S AT THESE TIMES THAT IT HELPS TO HAVE INPUT ABOUT LIFE CHOICES FROM A WISE AND GUIDED SOUL, ESPECIALLY ONE WHICH WAS SENT BY A HIGHER POWER TO HELP YOU! But Rose doesn't see it that way!"  
  
Rose sighed, she thought to herself, 'It's a long way home, it's chilly, and I don't even have a car." Rose noted that the wind was nipping her fingers and cheeks, feeling as though tough fingers were mercilessly nipping at those body parts, in the process. She thought about Jack's message, and her response echoed off of every brain cell in her brain, as she thought, 'I wonder what he was trying to say?' She had a slight smile of contemplation, and of contentment on her face as she braved the opposing wind, and made her way home. She thought to herself, 'One thing's for sure, I've got a new friend named JACK!' She raised her head up, looked at the frosty blue sky, that was beginning to reflect the bright pinpoints from the stars that occupy the night sky, as she thought, 'Well, this has BEEN A DAY!' Little did Rose realize that Jack was more than just a 'new friend.' Instead, Jack was Rose's spiritual guide to and through the other realm, the spiritual realm, where Rose belonged, even though she didn't yet realize it. Jack would be Rose's spiritual guide, a guardian angel, who would use his spiritual powers -which were even more powerful and vast than HE realized - to pull Rose out of the throes of evil. He would develop his powers using the powers from the vast spiritual powers of Jasmine, who is humanity's bridge between the spiritual and the physical realms, and who serves as a guide for all of humanity between this realm and the next one, to help deliver Rose from her struggle from evil. Sometimes, in the constant struggle of light to define itself from darkness, light can lose its nature and identity, due to its amorphous and shape-shifting nature, and due to its ambiguousness, and it can drift in the direction and guidance of evil, until redirected by a higher light energy source, that is sent by God to help it. For Rose, Jack was a guide that was sent by Jasmine and God, though neither Rose nor Jack realized it at this stage in their lives! 


	6. Present Day Titanic 6

CH 7: Rose Finds Cal Hard to Quit  
  
The next day, Rose was back at high school. She scoped Jack out, but she was not able to find him. Instead, as she was fumbling with her locker combination, by her locker door, she looked up, and she looked straight in to Cal's eyes. She soon found herself lost in his deep and devilishly charming and scintillating eyes. The naughty smirk on his face simply drove her crazy with intoxicating happiness. Soon, she felt as though she was on cloud nine, and she was forgetting about Jack's warning to her, as well as her other encounters with Cal that made her have second thoughts about him. Somehow, her gaze simply melted into his rich, and dark chocolate coloured eyes, and with her gaze, followed her heart, hopelessly into his calculating, and cunning clutches.  
  
Cal simply smiled at Rose in a very gentle and warm manner, which made Rose feel very relaxed and warm all over. For that one moment, Rose was convinced that Cal was actually in love with her. She thought, 'I mean he must, look at the way he looks at me. How can someone who doesn't truly love me look at me like this, and toy with my emotions in this way?'  
  
Unfortunately, Rose was too young and naieve to realize that some in this world have nothing but malice and evil on their minds, and would stop at nothing to try to ensnare an innocent and pristine heart into their claws, for their sheer manipulation. Rose also did not realize that some in this world are very good at acting as though they are in love, when such could be further from the truth.  
  
However, at that very moment, Rose was absolutely smitten by Cal, once again, and she opened her mouth, but found herself at a loss for words. It was then that Cal stole Rose's heart by looking at her in a very tender manner, and saying very softly, in a tone that simply swept over Rose's ears with its melodious tone, "So, it'll be a movie, later this week." Rose gave Cal a mesmerized look, as she gushed out, "When?" Cal smiled at her, quite gently and said, "When do you want?" Rose said, "How about tomorrow after school?" Cal said, "Ok, so it's a date!" Rose closed her locker, she was completely blinded by what she thought was love. She was so overcome by Cal that she completely forgot she was supposed to have gotten her binder out of her locker for homeroom. Jack, on the other hand, had watched the entire encounter from afar, and he had not been mesmerized by Cal, he realized that Cal was simply using his charm as a way to bait Rose, and wait for the perfect time when he could strike Rose's soul. While watching the encounter between Cal and Rose, Jack sensed that a hawk- like spirit was stirring inside Cal. This spirit was kept under careful wraps by Cal, because this spirit was so evil and horrible in nature, that if anyone ever saw it, he or she would realize that far from being a gentleman, Cal was actually an evil spirit in sheep's clothing. Jack sensed that Cal used charm and romance as a way to lure innocent young girls into his private life, and that when he was alone with the girls, he sprung his true nature on them. Jack sensed that Cal was some sort of perverse being, who thrived by consuming the emotional and psychic energy of other people. In this way, Cal was some sort of sick parasite. Needless to say, Jack did not trust Cal, and he wished Rose could see in Cal what he could see.  
  
It was history class, and Mrs. Holmes was discussing the impact that The Black Plague had on the European populace. Rose rolled her eyes in disgust and boredom. What did she care about some dumb plague that supposedly wreaked havoc on an entire continent way back when, and scarred an entire generation, as well as upset the social fabric of an entire society permanently. Rose was far more interested in practical things, and for her, such abstract and deep events really failed to make any impression on her. Rose took up her usual practice of writing notes in class. She, sometimes wrote notes to herself. However, she quickly bored of that, so she would write notes to friends like Mandy, or Katie, on the sly. Today, however, she looked to her left, and she saw, that exactly to the opposite and left of her, sat Jack. Unlike her, Jack was astutely paying attention to what Mrs. Holmes was saying, and religiously writing down every word she was saying, and contemplating on her words, by writing his own notes down in his journal. Rose scoffed, 'How can he find her lecture so interesting? It's all I can do to keep from falling asleep.' It was at this point in time that Rose suppressed a yawn. She wanted to yawn very loudly, so that she could keep from falling asleep, but she knew that she would have hell to pay for from the teacher if she did that!  
  
Rose, very subtly yanked at Jack's sweater. Startled, Jack, subtly looked around him, to see what had suddenly pulled at his sweater. It was then that Rose seized on her opportunity. She wrote down the following on a piece of paper: So how are you doing? And passed it to Jack. Jack immediately wrote: Rose, we can't pass notes now, it's class time!  
  
Rose responded: Why not, I do it all of the time, and I have never been caught!  
  
It was at this point in time, that Jack, when he read the note, smiled to himself in amuzement, and shook his head, it became obvious to him, then, that Rose was a free-spirited and independent thinker. He wrote: Ok.  
  
Rose replied: I have a date tomorrow to see Cal at the movies. Neat huh?  
  
When Jack read this note, fear gripped his note, and Rose could notice that his spine, suddenly quickened, as though, he had been jolted into a new reality and consciousness by some sort of outside force. Rose thought that this was interesting. She wasn't much into spirituality herself, but when she saw this, it was something that she couldn't ignore, because it was a different and unique reaction.  
  
Jack replied: What? Why?  
  
Rose wrote: Because he asked me. Jack, you don't understand, HE REALLY LOVES ME!  
  
Jack wrote in response: Rose, you idiot! He loves you as much as I love a mosquito buzzing around my room at night, please, listen to me, THIS MAN IS NO GOOD FOR YOU!  
  
Rose felt quite indignant when she read this response, she thought, 'How dare Jack write this way to me! He's being plain rude, just because he can't be popular, like I can!' In response, Rose wrote: Jack, you're just jealous that none of the popular girls look at you! This man is happening!  
  
Jack simply sighed in disappointment when he read this note. It was obvious to him that Rose, just didn't get it. Jack thought, 'I guess some in this world just have to learn their lessons the hard way! But, still, I KNOW I HAVE TO HELP HER!' It was at that point in time that a look of determinism entered into Jack's eyes. Then he wrote: Well, have fun then. But promise me one thing, tell me where you're going to be going. I think I might know some places where you could get a shake from. Do you like ice- cream shakes?  
  
Rose replied: Jack, I love ice-cream shakes. Maybe you could come too?  
  
When Jack read this note, a lump formed in his throat. He knew Cal hated him, and the last thing he wanted to do was spend a night alone with that guy! He replied: I'll think about it.  
  
Rose perked up, when she read this, she wrote down: Sure, hey, I'll SMS you when I know for sure tomorrow. Do you have a cell phone?  
  
Jack replied: Yes.  
  
Rose wrote down: What kind?  
  
Jack wrote: A Nokia  
  
Rose responded: You do? So do I! Hey, maybe we could SMS each other for fun, or something!  
  
Jack replied: Perhaps, but not in class. Rose, I like to learn knowledge in class.  
  
Rose replied: So maybe we could do it during lunch, and after school.  
  
Suddenly, Jack felt a warm feeling in his heart, and he smiled, he thought to himself, 'Yes! She's finally getting my message!' Jack replied: I think that's a great idea.  
  
Rose said: What do you do for fun?  
  
Jack replied: Surf the Internet, and hang out with friends. Rose, let's stop note passing, I fear Mrs. Holmes will catch on soon!  
  
The note taking stopped. However, little did Jack realize, that far from maturing, and finally getting his message, as he had thought, Rose was just embarking on her discovery towards self-discovery, which would, inextricably, involve Jack.  
  
Day passed into night, and Rose went to sleep that night. She had one dream she would never forget. She could see, and perceive every detail in that dream in so much clarity that she swore that she was actually living out that dream. Unlike other dreams she had, she would never forget any of the details of that dream which so disturbed her, and influenced her mind, that she woke up out of it in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.  
  
It was in this dream that Rose saw herself at the local movie theatre. Cal was there. Initially, Cal appeared to be a gentleman. But then, his shadow, which Rose could see, as a specific dark grey form, on the sidewalk began to shift. Rose saw, in her dream that it was very sunny outside. Rose noticed that, initially, the shadow turned into a hawk, but, then the shadow became animate, and it, literally began to rise out of the ground, as though it was becoming human. Rose was quite stunned to see that the shadow was Dracula. Dracula was looking at Rose, with beady red eyes, and Rose could see that the figure of Dracula was merging with Cal's figure, until they were one and the same. Suddenly, Cal no longer looked lovely and charming. Now, Rose could see that he was some sort of beast like evil creature, which resembled a glowering, and snarling creature, with a hawk's head, and a lion's body. The creature breathed out the words, "I am pure evil, I have come to get you, my dear innocent beauty." Rose, noted, in shock, that the creature looked at her with evil, beady red eyes, as though it realized she existed, and it was out to get her. Suddenly, the beast developed fangs, and made a lunge towards her neck. Rose screamed in shock. She tried to outrun it. Initially, she was successful, but then the beast sprouted wings, and began to fly, until it was right above her, then it swooped down on her, until it looked as though it was about ready to claim its coveted prize, her neck. It was then that Rose was screaming out, "HELP! HELP!" Help arrived in the form of Jack, who put his arms around her waist, and pulled her into the ground. The next thing she knew, she and Jack were sitting on the sidewalk, looking at each other in the eyes. It was at this time that Rose, in her dreams said, "What happened." Well, simultaneously, Rose woke up, in a state of confusion and fright, and she said, "What happened?"  
  
Rose could not realize what had happened, because she lacked the insight, but she did realize that it may have been some sort of message. It would take time for Rose to realize, exactly, what type of message it was. 


	7. Present Day Titanic 7

CH 7: Rose Finds Cal Hard to Quit  
  
The next day, Rose was back at high school. She scoped Jack out, but she was not able to find him. Instead, as she was fumbling with her locker combination, by her locker door, she looked up, and she looked straight in to Cal's eyes. She soon found herself lost in his deep and devilishly charming and scintillating eyes. The naughty smirk on his face simply drove her crazy with intoxicating happiness. Soon, she felt as though she was on cloud nine, and she was forgetting about Jack's warning to her, as well as her other encounters with Cal that made her have second thoughts about him. Somehow, her gaze simply melted into his rich, and dark chocolate coloured eyes, and with her gaze, followed her heart, hopelessly into his calculating, and cunning clutches.  
  
Cal simply smiled at Rose in a very gentle and warm manner, which made Rose feel very relaxed and warm all over. For that one moment, Rose was convinced that Cal was actually in love with her. She thought, 'I mean he must, look at the way he looks at me. How can someone who doesn't truly love me look at me like this, and toy with my emotions in this way?'  
  
Unfortunately, Rose was too young and naieve to realize that some in this world have nothing but malice and evil on their minds, and would stop at nothing to try to ensnare an innocent and pristine heart into their claws, for their sheer manipulation. Rose also did not realize that some in this world are very good at acting as though they are in love, when such could be further from the truth.  
  
However, at that very moment, Rose was absolutely smitten by Cal, once again, and she opened her mouth, but found herself at a loss for words. It was then that Cal stole Rose's heart by looking at her in a very tender manner, and saying very softly, in a tone that simply swept over Rose's ears with its melodious tone, "So, it'll be a movie, later this week." Rose gave Cal a mesmerized look, as she gushed out, "When?" Cal smiled at her, quite gently and said, "When do you want?" Rose said, "How about tomorrow after school?" Cal said, "Ok, so it's a date!" Rose closed her locker, she was completely blinded by what she thought was love. She was so overcome by Cal that she completely forgot she was supposed to have gotten her binder out of her locker for homeroom. Jack, on the other hand, had watched the entire encounter from afar, and he had not been mesmerized by Cal, he realized that Cal was simply using his charm as a way to bait Rose, and wait for the perfect time when he could strike Rose's soul. While watching the encounter between Cal and Rose, Jack sensed that a hawk- like spirit was stirring inside Cal. This spirit was kept under careful wraps by Cal, because this spirit was so evil and horrible in nature, that if anyone ever saw it, he or she would realize that far from being a gentleman, Cal was actually an evil spirit in sheep's clothing. Jack sensed that Cal used charm and romance as a way to lure innocent young girls into his private life, and that when he was alone with the girls, he sprung his true nature on them. Jack sensed that Cal was some sort of perverse being, who thrived by consuming the emotional and psychic energy of other people. In this way, Cal was some sort of sick parasite. Needless to say, Jack did not trust Cal, and he wished Rose could see in Cal what he could see.  
  
It was history class, and Mrs. Holmes was discussing the impact that The Black Plague had on the European populace. Rose rolled her eyes in disgust and boredom. What did she care about some dumb plague that supposedly wreaked havoc on an entire continent way back when, and scarred an entire generation, as well as upset the social fabric of an entire society permanently. Rose was far more interested in practical things, and for her, such abstract and deep events really failed to make any impression on her. Rose took up her usual practice of writing notes in class. She, sometimes wrote notes to herself. However, she quickly bored of that, so she would write notes to friends like Mandy, or Katie, on the sly. Today, however, she looked to her left, and she saw, that exactly to the opposite and left of her, sat Jack. Unlike her, Jack was astutely paying attention to what Mrs. Holmes was saying, and religiously writing down every word she was saying, and contemplating on her words, by writing his own notes down in his journal. Rose scoffed, 'How can he find her lecture so interesting? It's all I can do to keep from falling asleep.' It was at this point in time that Rose suppressed a yawn. She wanted to yawn very loudly, so that she could keep from falling asleep, but she knew that she would have hell to pay for from the teacher if she did that!  
  
Rose, very subtly yanked at Jack's sweater. Startled, Jack, subtly looked around him, to see what had suddenly pulled at his sweater. It was then that Rose seized on her opportunity. She wrote down the following on a piece of paper: So how are you doing? And passed it to Jack. Jack immediately wrote: Rose, we can't pass notes now, it's class time!  
  
Rose responded: Why not, I do it all of the time, and I have never been caught!  
  
It was at this point in time, that Jack, when he read the note, smiled to himself in amuzement, and shook his head, it became obvious to him, then, that Rose was a free-spirited and independent thinker. He wrote: Ok.  
  
Rose replied: I have a date tomorrow to see Cal at the movies. Neat huh?  
  
When Jack read this note, fear gripped his note, and Rose could notice that his spine, suddenly quickened, as though, he had been jolted into a new reality and consciousness by some sort of outside force. Rose thought that this was interesting. She wasn't much into spirituality herself, but when she saw this, it was something that she couldn't ignore, because it was a different and unique reaction.  
  
Jack replied: What? Why?  
  
Rose wrote: Because he asked me. Jack, you don't understand, HE REALLY LOVES ME!  
  
Jack wrote in response: Rose, you idiot! He loves you as much as I love a mosquito buzzing around my room at night, please, listen to me, THIS MAN IS NO GOOD FOR YOU!  
  
Rose felt quite indignant when she read this response, she thought, 'How dare Jack write this way to me! He's being plain rude, just because he can't be popular, like I can!' In response, Rose wrote: Jack, you're just jealous that none of the popular girls look at you! This man is happening!  
  
Jack simply sighed in disappointment when he read this note. It was obvious to him that Rose, just didn't get it. Jack thought, 'I guess some in this world just have to learn their lessons the hard way! But, still, I KNOW I HAVE TO HELP HER!' It was at that point in time that a look of determinism entered into Jack's eyes. Then he wrote: Well, have fun then. But promise me one thing, tell me where you're going to be going. I think I might know some places where you could get a shake from. Do you like ice- cream shakes?  
  
Rose replied: Jack, I love ice-cream shakes. Maybe you could come too?  
  
When Jack read this note, a lump formed in his throat. He knew Cal hated him, and the last thing he wanted to do was spend a night alone with that guy! He replied: I'll think about it.  
  
Rose perked up, when she read this, she wrote down: Sure, hey, I'll SMS you when I know for sure tomorrow. Do you have a cell phone?  
  
Jack replied: Yes.  
  
Rose wrote down: What kind?  
  
Jack wrote: A Nokia  
  
Rose responded: You do? So do I! Hey, maybe we could SMS each other for fun, or something!  
  
Jack replied: Perhaps, but not in class. Rose, I like to learn knowledge in class.  
  
Rose replied: So maybe we could do it during lunch, and after school.  
  
Suddenly, Jack felt a warm feeling in his heart, and he smiled, he thought to himself, 'Yes! She's finally getting my message!' Jack replied: I think that's a great idea.  
  
Rose said: What do you do for fun?  
  
Jack replied: Surf the Internet, and hang out with friends. Rose, let's stop note passing, I fear Mrs. Holmes will catch on soon!  
  
The note taking stopped. However, little did Jack realize, that far from maturing, and finally getting his message, as he had thought, Rose was just embarking on her discovery towards self-discovery, which would, inextricably, involve Jack.  
  
Day passed into night, and Rose went to sleep that night. She had one dream she would never forget. She could see, and perceive every detail in that dream in so much clarity that she swore that she was actually living out that dream. Unlike other dreams she had, she would never forget any of the details of that dream which so disturbed her, and influenced her mind, that she woke up out of it in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.  
  
It was in this dream that Rose saw herself at the local movie theatre. Cal was there. Initially, Cal appeared to be a gentleman. But then, his shadow, which Rose could see, as a specific dark grey form, on the sidewalk began to shift. Rose saw, in her dream that it was very sunny outside. Rose noticed that, initially, the shadow turned into a hawk, but, then the shadow became animate, and it, literally began to rise out of the ground, as though it was becoming human. Rose was quite stunned to see that the shadow was Dracula. Dracula was looking at Rose, with beady red eyes, and Rose could see that the figure of Dracula was merging with Cal's figure, until they were one and the same. Suddenly, Cal no longer looked lovely and charming. Now, Rose could see that he was some sort of beast like evil creature, which resembled a glowering, and snarling creature, with a hawk's head, and a lion's body. The creature breathed out the words, "I am pure evil, I have come to get you, my dear innocent beauty." Rose, noted, in shock, that the creature looked at her with evil, beady red eyes, as though it realized she existed, and it was out to get her. Suddenly, the beast developed fangs, and made a lunge towards her neck. Rose screamed in shock. She tried to outrun it. Initially, she was successful, but then the beast sprouted wings, and began to fly, until it was right above her, then it swooped down on her, until it looked as though it was about ready to claim its coveted prize, her neck. It was then that Rose was screaming out, "HELP! HELP!" Help arrived in the form of Jack, who put his arms around her waist, and pulled her into the ground. The next thing she knew, she and Jack were sitting on the sidewalk, looking at each other in the eyes. It was at this time that Rose, in her dreams said, "What happened." Well, simultaneously, Rose woke up, in a state of confusion and fright, and she said, "What happened?"  
  
Rose could not realize what had happened, because she lacked the insight, but she did realize that it may have been some sort of message. It would take time for Rose to realize, exactly, what type of message it was. 


	8. Present Day Titanic 8

The Date  
  
Rose got up after her strange dream. She looked at her clock, and noticed that it was Midnight. She couldn't well wake her mother up, her mother would have a fit, and so she decided to go to the bathroom to get a glass of water.  
  
She went too the bathroom, and picked up a Dixie cup, she turned on the cold water tap, and began to fill the cup with water. As she sipped from the cup, she thought to herself, 'Boy, what happened.I SWEAR, this JUST gets STRANGER by the day!' She shook her head in amazement and disappointment. All she had wanted was to find true love, but now, all she was finding was confusion. She thought to herself in frustration, 'Why does life HAVE to be such a BITCH?' She quickly turned off the bathroom light, and then climbed back into bed.  
  
6:45 A.M.  
  
Ruth walked into the kitchen, and was quite amazed to see Rose dressed up, and ready for school, sitting at the kitchen table eating corn flakes. Usually, Ruth had to drag Rose out of bed, literally, and had to coax Rose away from the ice cream and donuts. Curious, Ruth asked, "Rose, honey, why are you ready so soon? Why are you ACTUALLY EATING healthy food?"  
  
Rose gave her mother a confused look. Then, she looked down at her bowl of corn flakes, as she said in a very meek voice, which was so faint that it sounded to Ruth, like a faint whisper which she could barely hear, "Mom.I had a strange dream last night.one which.one which." Now Rose looked up at her mother, her blue eyes wide with fear as she said, "AND IT SCARED THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF ME!" "Rose." Ruth responded, in shock, "Watch your mouth!" Then, Ruth, noticing Rose was visibly scared responded in concern, "What happened honey?" Rose looked up at her mother in confusion, as she asked in a meek, and curious tone, "Mom, what's falling in love supposed to feel like?" Before Ruth could answer the question, Rose replied, "Last night, I dreamt that my dream guy turned into an evil monster, and tried to kill me. I mean, Cal, this dream guy is perfect. he comes from a prestigious family, and he's a gentleman. But in this one dream I had, and I could see EVERYTHING in this dream SO clearly, he turned into an ASSHOLE, and then the guy from no where, from the boondocks, was the one who rescued me!" Rose looked up at her mother in confusion as she said, "I don't GET it!" Ruth sighed, it was clear to her that Rose was facing complex quandaries that went far beyond falling in love. Ruth had heard of this happening, but until recently, she had thought it was simply folk tale. She had heard about a certain healing love, which supposedly, emanated from an abstract, and higher power (some call this power 'God', in any case, it's abstract enough to defy ordinary human comprehension), which could be transmitted by human contact. Once a person received this love, this person underwent a profound emotional transformation, and matured in the process. Ruth didn't know how to tell this to Rose, so she simply said, "Rose, honey, sometimes, love hurts! I mean, it seems cruel, but sometimes, the whole point of falling in love is to GROW yourself!"  
  
Rose looked up at her mother in even more confusion, then she got up from the table, and she said, "I guess I'll work on Trig in my room." Rose went up into her room, and began to work out as many Trig problems as possible.  
  
8:00 A.M.  
  
Rose was standing by her locker. There was Cal, staring at her. It happened to her again, Rose was fast and furious in love with Cal. Cal gave Rose a very naughty smile, which made her feel giddy in the head, as he said in a very seductive, and smooth voice, "So, where do you want to go, how about The Slick Cat?" Rose, blindly said, "Ok." Cal walked away. Rose, immediately whipped out her Nokia, and she sent Jack an SMS message reading: CAL AND I ARE GOING TO GO TO THE SLICK CAT THEATRE AFTER SCHOOL. MEET ME AFTER SCHOOL GETS OUT BY THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. Immediately after she had sent this message, she got an SMS message from Jack, on her cell, which read: OK.  
  
4:00 P.M.  
  
School was over, and Jack walked over to Rose, who was standing out by the front of the building. Jack said, "Rose, I can't come with you, but I'll follow you in my car, and I'll watch over you." It was then that Jack pointed to his beat-up 1978 model Cadillac. Rose sighed when she saw it, from her standpoint; it was so plain, that it made Jack look like a pauper. Well, on the surface, that's what he WAS! His socio-economic standing made him a PAUPER, but Rose could never shake the niggling feeling that Jack was really a GENTLEMAN! Rose sighed again as she thought to herself, 'It's not fair, if only life could present the opportunity to show Jack as he really is, which is a Prince, and not what he appears to be, due to his life situation, which is a pauper, and a nobody!'  
  
Rose did not realize it then, but the date that Rose and Cal were going to go on would be life presenting a prime opportunity for showing Rose and Cal Jack's true colours and nature.  
  
4:05 P.M.  
  
Jack disappeared into his car, just as Cal appeared. Cal looked at the beat-up Cadillac and sniffed at it with an air of contempt, he said, under his breath, in an arrogant tone, "Boy.I wonder who would drive that piece of junk!" A hard lump formed in Rose's throat, and all of a sudden, she felt quite nauseous. She could feel her cheeks burning with anger as she thought about Cal's words. In a state of indignity, and a sense of rebellion, she thought to herself, 'Jack is NOT a vagabond, which is what Cal inferred!' Cal looked at Rose, and he said, "So, are you going to come into the car with me?"  
  
When Rose saw the Rolls Royce that Cal drove, what with its slick black interior, and its model insignia perched in an air of defiance on the hood of the car, her breath was taken away. She had never seen something so grand in her life. The car appeared to be saying, "Look at me, I am a work of art." Rose gasped, she was so taken away by the sight of his car that she was breathless, and literally, hyperventilating. Rose got into the passenger seat of the car, and it was then that she began to feel like a prisoner. She may have been like a princess, what with driving in such a high-class, and exclusive car, but she would find Cal's personality to be quite controlling. Immediately, when she got into the car, much to her shock, Cal turned on the permanent locks for all of the car doors, "As a safety feature." Cal told her. Rose tried to reassure herself that Cal was doing this for her welfare, but, somehow, she couldn't shake the niggling feeling that Cal was doing this in the attempt to try to trap her. Rose felt queasy, and she squirmed around in her seat. It was then that Cal appeared to have telepathic powers, or at least, that's the way it seemed from Rose's standpoint, for, without even looking at Rose, Cal said in a very cold, unemotional, and off-beat way, "Rose, stop squirming, it's not ladylike!" Rose felt stunned, as though Cal had simply slapped her across the face, she felt, as though, from hearing the tone in Cal's voice, that Cal did not really care about the way she felt, she felt as though Cal viewed her as road kill, as a simple object, and nothing more. Rose, nervously, looked in the rear window, and was quite relieved to see Jack's Cadillac following them. Somehow, Rose felt as though an angel was following her. Cal did not seem to note the Cadillac following his car, and he, indiscriminately, began to turn on Mediaeval Church music, in Latin. Rose felt quite peeved that Cal didn't even bother to ask her what type of music she wanted to listen to. "Cal." she said in an annoyed tone, "why did you not ask me what type of music I wanted to listen to, I HATE." Cal, violently, turned to her, and snapped at her, "Look, when I want your opinion, I'll give it to you, this is MY car, and you're just a guest here, do YOU UNDERSTAND. Also, I think you're acting quite uppity, and UNLADYLIKE BY COMPLAINING. A TRUE LADY DOES AS SHE IS TOLD WITHOUT PROTESTING!" 'In that case,' Rose thought to herself quite weakly, 'I don't want to be a lady.'  
  
Rose felt a very unsettling feeling rising from her heart into her bosom. For all of her life, she'd been liked, and everyone had treated her like a princess. She'd been Miss. Popular, and she'd been the center of everyone's life, but now, now it was different. Rose put her hands on her stomach, as she was trying to coax a very upset stomach to calmness. Right now, Rose felt like throwing-up, she could 'feel it coming up' she could also feel the acid churning away in her stomach. It wasn't fair, from her standpoint. The only thing she could think of now was, 'what did I do to deserve this?' She'd always heard that love was something that made a person feel good, well, she may have been experiencing love, but it HURT! She felt queasy; she couldn't shake the niggling feeling from her mind that Cal didn't really love her, that he was really using her popularity and social status to simply raise his status. Somehow, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that was simply nibbling away at her insides, not her physical insides, but her emotional and her SPIRITUAL insides, that for Cal, all she was was an object for him to display to others, as if to say, "see, look at what I got, and SHE'S all mine!" It was then that Rose thought to herself, 'BUT I AM A REAL HUMAN with REAL feelings, I mean, I'm more than an object, I AM a person who can think for herself! Why should I even have to put up with this?' It was then that she found herself contemplating a thought that she'd never thought of before, 'WHAT IS LOVE?'  
  
That question was a question that the world's brightest literary geniuses, and intellectuals, from Jesus, to Shakespeare, to Devdas had pondered since before recorded human history. While none had, or have, ever found an absolute answer to the question, many have come up with what they thought were sufficient answers to the question. The only trouble was that one geniuses's idea of 'love' might be another's idea of 'hell'. Einstein's famous equation, E=MC^2, which explains the 'theory of relativity' states that everything, especially ideas, in this universe is relative, and love is definitely one of them. The true answer to this question is that 'love is in the eyes of the beholder, and is what the beholder interprets it to be.' That is something that Rose would eventually learn.  
  
5:00 P.M.  
  
Rose breathed a sigh of relief; they were finally at the theatre! Rose's stomach was killing her, and her throat was parched, but she felt too afraid of asking her date if they couldn't stop by a haunt to get something to eat and drink, because she was too afraid that he might strike out at her. 'That's just it!' she thought to herself in indignation, 'why should I be afraid to ask the man I love if I can't try to get something to eat and drink?' It was then that Cal said in a robotic and unemotional voice, "Rose, before the movie, I was wondering if you wanted to stop by Carls Jr for something to eat." Rose breathed a sigh of relief, and she said, "Yes." Rose breathed an even bigger sigh of relief when she saw Jack getting out of his car. She and Jack made eye contact that instant, and Jack was shaken when he saw the pleading look that was emanating from Rose's bright blue eyes, as though she was in some sort of perverted trap, and she was just crying out for help! Jack had never seen such a look in anyone's eyes before, and as an artist, he'd seen lots of eyes, because he knew that 'the eyes are the gateway to the soul' and it was his job to capture the emotion in peoples' eyes when he painted them. The look that Jack saw in Rose's eyes was that of a soul that was trapped in some sort of invisible cage, and was being tortured by an invisible, but omni-present evil force. Jack had heard of such metaphors in literature, but, until he had seen that look in Rose's eyes, he'd never thought that such a concept existed! The look that Jack saw in Rose's eyes sent chills up his spine.  
  
5:05 P.M.  
  
Cal and Rose were standing behind the counter at Carls, ordering food, and Rose smiled in relief when she saw Jack trailing them. Jack smiled when he saw Rose smile at him. When Rose smiled, it illuminated her entire face, and made her eyes dance with glee. Somehow, when she smiled, it brought out life and vigour and jest, and a lively spirit in her eyes. Such an expression, from Jack's viewpoint, was memorable. 'She should smile like that more often, and I should paint her when she smiles, she really has life, vigour, and SPIRIT when she smiles!' Jack thought to himself. It was then that Jack conspicuously went outside, and pulled out a newspaper, and began to hide behind it. Rose's heart sunk, because she had so hoped that Jack would accompany them. Cal turned around and saw the look of longing, and happiness in Rose's eyes and on her face, and something told him that she wasn't happy for him, something was beginning to tell Cal, in a very unsettling way that Rose wasn't really into him. Cal couldn't have this, from his standpoint, every girl could be conquered, and was simply more meat for his insatiatiable machine. It was then that Cal said in a very harsh, grating, and caustic voice, "Rose, what are you looking at?" Rose turned around, startled, and said, "I'm a nature freak, and I was admiring the outdoors." Cal gave her a look that said, 'yeah right!' Rose felt very uncomfortable, and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, as well as butterflies in her stomach. She could sense that Cal was beginning to sense that something wasn't quite right with this picture, and that she wasn't really into him. 'Well,' she thought to herself in indignant justification, 'If love is something that makes you feel good, and makes you grow, then why should I WILLINGLY fall in love with an asshole?' It was then that Rose caught herself, and began to wonder if she had willingly fallen in love. In any case, they got their order, and sat down at a table, and began to eat. While they were eating, Cal's demeanouor was so controlling, that Rose felt quite uncomfortable, as though she was being watched like a hawk, and being smothered. Also, Cal looked at her with such beady eyes, that she swore that Cal was trying to pierce right through her body with his caustic and piercy looks. Rose squirmed many times as they were eating, because she felt as though Cal was trying to eat away at the essence of her, with his looks. She could sense a red and beady presence and nature in his eyes, and it was making her feel mighty uncomfortable!  
  
5:40 P.M.  
  
Rose and Cal arose from their seats, and Jack, who was the silent observer in all of this, arose as well. He quickly and deftly folded his newspaper, and then he walked behind the restaurant, and into the movie theatre, so that he could be as obscure from Rose and Cal as possible. All the while, he was keeping their view in the corner of his eye. Rose and Cal entered the room, which was screening 'Goldmember'. Jack, quickly followed them. Rose and Cal were sitting in the front of the room, and Jack was sitting towards the back of the room, where his presence was inconspicuous to Cal. The movie was supposed to be funny, but with Cal's constant and smothering presence, it was all that Rose could do to keep from feeling as though the very essence of life was being snuffed out of her. Somehow, she felt as though something that was very essential to her, the lifeblood of her, yet something that was so intangible and ethereal that it could only be sensed, and not seen, or proven was being squeezed of its energy by a dark force, which emanated from Cal. Somehow, she could sense that a very malicious and dark energy, which was invisible, was emanating from Cal, and was contained in some loosely defined and barely felt, force field, was moving out of its very porous, and loosely defined borders, which occupied the space in and around Cal's body, and was moving, with a will and an energy that Rose could neither identify, nor understand, into the force field that was in and around Rose's body, and was somehow, was trying to enter her force field, and was trying to tap the psychic energy that was innate to Rose, and was trying to feed off of it! Rose felt as though, Cal was trying to use bad vibes to feed off of her psychic energy (many people call this a soul) and was trying to use the goodness of her soul to strengthen his soul. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear HE WAS A VAMPIRE! Rose felt very nervous when she made this discovery. Suddenly, she felt as though she was REALLY trapped. She wanted to fly away from her seat, to somewhere safe.  
  
It was at that instant that she, instinctively, and automatically, turned her head around to see where Jack was. She KNEW that Jack was there. While she couldn't see him sitting in the back of the theatre, she could sense his presence there, and this made her feel much more comfortable. All of a sudden, she felt as though an angel was watching over her, and protecting her to ensure that nothing bad happen to her.  
  
The movie was short in duration, and it was finally over, after an hour and a half.  
  
7:30 P.M.  
  
The movie ended, and Rose, begrudgingly, got up with Cal. She sighed, she really didn't look forward to getting into the Rolls with Cal, and she didn't care how swanky the car looked. She thought to herself, 'boy, it would be better to ride with Jack in his beat up Caddy, where, at least I'd be treated like a real human, rather than put up pretences, and feel as though I was in a trap with this ASSHOLE!' It was the last word, 'asshole' which made Rose turn her head up, and look at Cal in deep thought and contemplation. It was then that she asked herself the million-dollar question, 'Is he REALLY the one for me?' She got into the passenger seat of Cal's Rolls, but she felt quite a bit of relief when she saw Jack's Caddy trailing her. Somehow, she felt as though her guardian angel was watching over her.  
  
8:00 P.M.  
  
Rose got out of the Rolls, and she said with a confidence that shocked Cal, she could tell by the look on his face, "Don't call me for the next date, I'll call you!" That was the only thing she said, as she got out of the car, and walked towards her house. She saw Jack's Caddy, parked underneath a tree, in such a way that it remained hidden. She watched as Cal drove away, and as soon as he had driven away so that she was out of eyeshot, she walked towards Jack's Caddy. But she was quite surprised to find, when she finally got to his car that no one was inside. She looked at the windshield, and she was quite shocked to see an image of a young woman, perhaps no older than 25 look at her. This woman was wearing a red wrap, and she appeared to be standing in front of a stair well. Rose saw that she was wearing black pants, with flowers, and that she was wearing an off- green beige shirt. Rose saw that this girl was very pretty. She had red hair, which wasn't quite shoulder length. Rose saw that she had dark brown eyes, and very rich, dark-medium olive skin. This girl said, "My name is Jasmine, and I'm here to protect you." Suddenly, it was just as soon as the image had appeared for Rose that it disappeared! Rose felt very bewildered.  
  
"Rose." "Rose." Startled, Rose looked up, and she saw her mother calling her. Rose thought to her, 'I'd best go inside, I've still got a lot of homework to do.' So Rose went inside. Her back was turned to Jack, so she didn't see him looking at her, in admiration, and with a tinge of love in his heart. He was thinking to himself, with longing eyes, as he watched her walk towards her front door with a sexy jaunt, which would make any man's heart melt, 'My God, what a woman!' Jack got into his car, and quietly drove off..  
  
Rose, gingerly, turned the knob to the front door. Her mother was sitting by the kitchen table. Ruth asked, "So how did the date go?" Rose didn't even look at her mother, Rose felt quite chilled. She said, "Some things just don't work out. I don't know, but I think it was a disaster. I'm beginning to really have second thoughts about Cal, and I'm beginning to wonder if I EVER WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN!" Ruth mentioned in a nonchalant, and off-beat way, "That bad, huh?" It was then that Rose violently turned around to her mother and said, "Mom, you JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Then she huffed her way upstairs.  
  
It was while Rose was walking upstairs that her mother looked at her with a wry look in her eyes, and a wry smile on her face and said to herself, in a very cunning voice, "Ah, my dear, but I DO understand what you're going through, for I have been there myself. The person experiencing the situation MUST learn some lessons in life. There are some things that just can't be taught to people. THESE LESSONS MUST BE LEARNED THE HARD WAY!" Then Ruth pulled out a picture of Jasmine, which was identical to the image that Rose had seen on Jack's windshield earlier that evening. Ruth smiled to herself as she looked at the picture and she said, "I have met Jasmine, and I imagine, Rose, my dear daughter, you will too. She is the keeper of civilization, and the guardian angel of us all!"  
  
8:20 P.M.  
  
However, Rose wasn't seeing it that way. Rose sighed in frustration. For some reason, she just couldn't get her lima cons to turn out right. 'Great!' she thought to herself, 'I have a Trig test tomorrow, and I can't do my DAMN homework.' It was then that she moved over to her bed, and began to type out her thoughts into her diary. Here is how her journal entry read:  
  
22 September, 2003  
  
Dear Diary:  
  
Life is such a Bitch! I thought I had met my dream guy, but it turns out that he's a dud; actually, he's an asshole. To make matters worse, the guy that everyone paints off as a no one has turned out, so far, to be a real gentleman. I mean it seems weird to me, because the guy I thought I was in love with, turns out to be a loser, and the guy who everyone would write off as road kill, because of his perceived lower social status is the true gentleman. This reminds me of the famous phrase, 'you can't judge a book by its cover.' Everyone told me that love is 'the best thing that happens to you.' Well, love happened to me, but I can think of a lot of better experiences that have occurred in my life. By far, this has been the WORST experience I have had in my life. If I didn't know any better, I would swear that someone was trying to punish me. I mean, I haven't hurt anyone, and I wonder what I've done to deserve this! This has been too much for me to ponder, but it has gotten me to wonder about my entire life, and everything I've ever valued. For all of my life, the only one I've ever thought about is myself. I mean, I was everyone's princess, but that was before I met a guy who couldn't give a fuck about me. The funniest thing is that he appeared to be a nice, romantic, and charming man, who cared about everyone. But, when I got to know him better, I began to get the feeling that he sees people, especially women, ones who are young, rich, and pretty, as objects to be used, to enhance his own standing and status in society. I also got the feeling that he uses people, especially if they've got status, and money, and energy to strengthen himself. I got that impression today, when I went on that 'date!' with him. What a date, Chinese torture would have been more fun than that date was! I mean, as I was sitting by him, I got the feeling that somehow, he was trying to tap into some inner energy that I had, and he was trying to use it. I don't know if he does this on purpose, but I know that he does this! I've heard about such characters in folk tales and legend, and I think they're referred to as vampires, but, come on, get real, vampires don't exist.  
  
It was then that Rose's eyes became wide with an innocent fear, as she, audibly finished the last sentence of her journal entry with, "Or do they?" She resumed her journal entry. Then there was that image, of that girl that I saw in Jack's windshield window. Speaking of which, that reminds me of that dream I had yesterday, when I saw Cal turn into.Dracula? It was then that he tried to get me; he said something about being attracted to my innocence and my beauty. It was then that I tried to outrun him, but the bastard began to develop wings, and a hawk's body, and tried to out fly me, he was getting pretty damn close to me, and my neck, which he looked like he wanted to bite.just like the folk tales and legends say DRACULA did! But then, Jack came and rescued me. Hey, wait, all along, I got the feeling that Jack, was my guardian angel. A guardian angel is someone who protects you, but whose presence you can't really see. All throughout the date, I knew Jack was there, but I couldn't really see him. I mean I know he was trying to hid from Cal, but I can't help but notice that there's a strong symbolic connotation to the events that conspired in the way they did during my date, and.IN MY LIFE! Then there was that image of that girl in Jack's windshield, who called herself, 'Jasmine' and said she was going to protect me. But from who, and what?  
  
It was then that Rose looked up from her laptop, and said, "Well, tomorrow's another day."  
  
Presently, Rose was in a state of sheer and utter confusion. She was just beginning to wake up, but even her mind was too immature, and too young and naive to comprehend the true and full nature of what was happening. It was evident by thee diary entry that she had written that she was finally beginning to come out of her shell and realize that the world didn't owe her anything, and that not everyone in the world would think of her as a princess. Rose was young yet, so it would take her some time to really begin to understand who she was, and to really understand the true nature of sacrifice, growing up, and maturity. Though she didn't quite realize it, she was beginning to understand the concept of 'the soul' and the concept of spiritual awakening and development. Thus far, she had identified it as psychic energy, which is exactly what it is. She had been correct to identify it as 'lifeblood' during her date. The soul is the psychic and ethereal energy, which is the energy of all living things. The soul is the reason why all living things are dynamic, and why they can perceive their environment, and respond to it. Without the soul, life on Earth would be impossible, this is because the physiological nature of the body, as scientists define it only explain the mechanical workings of the body, but it can't explain why humans function as dynamic and vibrant beings, and it can't explain why plants and animals function as dynamic and vibrant beings as well (scientists are now finding that primates and humans share more than 98% of DNA. Furthermore, they are finding that only 50 genetic mutations separate humans from primates, and that those genetic mutations differ in quantity and not quality -meaning that primates share the same reasoning and speaking abilities as humans, but in the human brain, these abilities are much greater than in primates). It was clear that Rose was finally beginning to wake up to the true and vibrant woman that she really was, but it would take several more encounters, and days of spiritual awakening for her to really realize who she really was. She was right to realize that 'Jasmine' played an important part in her spiritual awakening and discovery. Rose was also finally beginning to realize that life is much more than 'having fun', it's about spiritual discovery, and finally learning that other people matter, and that when you undertake actions, you have to think about how they affect others, because that is a true sign of maturity, which was something that Rose so pined to have. Rose also pined to find true love, which she would, but finding true love can only come with 'spiritual awakening', or 'really finding yourself' which leads to maturity. That would take a while.  
  
Meanwhile, Rose was getting out her Nokia, and sending Jack an SMS message, which read, "So, what are you doing tomorrow afternoon, do you want to go out on a date?" She gingerly held her phone waiting for a response, which she got, in the form of SMS text, which read, "Sure, what do you want to do, and what time do you want to meet Rose, I'd love to get to know you better. You really are a very interesting and unique person." Rose chuckled to herself, "Oh, I'm flattered." She immediately transferred Jack's message to her to her computer, so that she could save it. 


	9. Present Day Titanic 9

Chapter Nine: Rose finds Vampires and Hawks do exist in People  
  
Rose could hardly believe it, she was going to get to know JACK better! She smiled, as her heart raced in excitement. But, little did she realize that once Cal had a girl cornered, she was his for keeps! Well, day passed into night again, and Rose went to sleep. It was at this time that she began to have another dream, which went as such:  
  
12:00 - Midnight  
  
Rose could see that she was at school, but this time, the surroundings looked much different. She saw her locker, and she walked towards it. She saw.Dracula? Standing by her locker. Chills ran up her spine as she found herself staring face to face with this, seemingly, mythological creature. However, this 'mythological' creature seemed to be too real to be fantasy! Dracula gave her a quite menacing look before he began to talk. It was then that Rose thought to herself in shock, 'He can talk, YIKES!' Dracula talked in a very distant, and growling tone, which reflected evil. As he talked, he looked at her with an evil smile, and a look in his eyes, which simply suggested that he could hardly wait to make her a part of his menagerie. Dracula said, "So, my dear, I hear that you've met my protégée? Ah, my pretty, sweets to the sweets, you want to escape from this game, this TRAP? Well, such is not possible. When one enters the game of doom and deception, one enters into the lair of devils, from which there can be no return." It was then that he deposited a ring in her hand, which had a strange insignia, which she couldn't quite decipher, he said, "This is a present from the heavens below." Dracula disappeared.  
  
12:10 - A.M.  
  
Rose woke up in quite a state of shock. She looked at her face in the mirror, before she pondered to herself, "I never knew there were heavens 'below'!" The room was dimly lit, but Rose swore that she could see menacing shadows milling around in the room behind her. She could make out the faint image of a vampire, which appeared in the mirror, directly behind her. She turned around in such fright that she could feel her heart racing in her chest. She looked behind her, and she saw nothing, or so she thought! She felt a very strange and unpleasant burning sensation in her right palm, which was where Dracula had placed the ring in her dream. She looked down, and she turned on her chest light. She gasped in shock, 'why, it's singed black!' she thought to herself in shock. She looked down and examined the wound further, and she saw that there was a black, charred round, circular exterior, in the center of which was a huge glistening red area. She ran her hand across the glistening area, "it's blood!" she commented to herself in shock. She took a Kleenex and began to wipe all of the blood away from the center of her right palm. Underneath the blood was where she saw a very bright orange fire, thinking this was strange, she held up her palm in front of her face, so that it was in front of the mirror. She noticed that the fire was a holographic image, and when she looked at this image, she appeared to be taken into a distant dimension. She then saw the image of Dracula appearing, and he looked like a fine gentleman, what being decked up in the nicest black clothes, with a black cape tied around his neck. She noticed his menacing fangs, and she noticed that some light appeared to be reflecting off of these fangs, so that they glimmered with some sort of glow. She noticed that Dracula had a hideous face, something that was grotesque, and was distorted beyond reality, and was UGLY! It was then that Dracula looked straight at her, as he said, "Welcome to my realm, my dear, welcome to heaven, WELCOME TO HELL!" He then disappeared into thin air, as he was laughing. Rose held up her right palm in the mirror again, and she noticed that it had completely healed. 'That's strange!' she thought to herself in amazement.  
  
12:20 - A.M.  
  
Rose saw black smoke gathering behind her. She then saw the image of Cal appear. Cal's image solidified, until he was real. Rose turned around in shock, but when she did so, she saw that there was no one else in her room. So she turned around and looked at herself in the mirror. It was then that she saw Cal's image, which, looked real. Cal talked, and she could hear his voice tones, which sounded as though they were emanating from another dimension, because they were so distant and hollow. "ROSE! I LOVE you! How can you do this to me?" Cal said. It was at that point in time that Cal put his right hand on Rose's right shoulder, as he said, "Come, my dear, be my QUEEN FOREVER!" Startled, Rose said, "No, I've had it with you!" Then Cal gave her a mesmerizing look, as he said, "But I love you. I'm sorry for the way I treated you. Come now, I promise, I'll never do it again, it'll be different this time, I swear!" It was then that he placed a necklace, which had quite a few exquisite blue diamonds around it, in fact, it was the blue diamonds, which made up the necklace, Rose noticed that there was a white diamond, which was a pendant, which hung in the center of the necklace. Rose's heart was won over, and she said, "Ok, Cal, I forgive you!" It was then that Cal smiled, and he said, "Honey, it's ok, I knew you'd see it MY WAY!" He then stooped down, and placed a very gentle peck on Rose's right cheek, which felt as though it was warming her cheek, and her heart as well. Then, the apparition of Cal disappeared.  
  
12:30 - A.M.  
  
Rose looked down, and she noticed that she was wearing the necklace on her neck, and she thought to herself, while she was smiling, and walking towards her bed, 'My God! Cal is a gentleman!'  
  
All the while, Jasmine, from her hidden and invisible place in the spiritual realm was smiling to herself, she thought to herself, 'Poor Rose! She should have thought, 'My God! Cal is a manipulative bastard, he tried to win my heart over by lying to me, and by presenting me with a nice present!' Rose should have thrown the necklace back at Cal in a sign of anger. She'll learn, however, she'll see that there are people you shouldn't ever meet in life. I'm still surprised that Rose hasn't been picking up on the clues I've been trying to send her, with the messages from Jack, with the psychic dreams, and with the visions. But, I guess there are some in this world who must learn things the HARD way!' 


	10. Present Day Titanic 10

Chapter 10: Rose Finds Cal hard to let go  
  
Rose went to bed excited that night. 'My God!' she thought to herself, 'soon, I'll be on a DATE with Jack, wouldn't THAT be nice!' Little did Rose realize that Cal had spiritual powers, including the power to seduce, charm and kill that Rose was not yet aware of. Rose climbed into bed, as usual, but she was met by a dream, one of many that she would never forget. The dream took place at around midnight, and lasted for only a few seconds, but it was the impact that it left on Rose's mind, which left her shaken for a while.  
  
12:00 A.M.  
  
Rose found herself walking to her locker, working out her combination, minding her own business, but all the while, she could sense that someone was watching her, someone with a presence, and a personality that she didn't like! She looked up, and lo and behold, she was staring DRACULA right in the face! Rose stepped back in shock. Dracula looked at her with his red and beady eyes, which were designed to pierce right into souls, and destroy them. Rose saw Dracula's lips part in a very menacing way, and this made every hair stand up on her body in fright. Rose heard Dracula say to her, "Once in my grasp, always in my grasp!" She then saw his lips part into a very menacing smile, which was so sinister that it made her heart stop, in both her dreams, and in her physical body. She could smell death, as well as human blood, which numerous legends (which she had always assumed were hearsay and old wives' tales, at least, UNTIL NOW!) had informed her that he lived off of! The apparition of Dracula disappeared, but not before he placed a strange, round ring, which appeared to be made out of black enamel, and appeared to have waves, on either side of it in Rose's right palm. "Aahh." Rose screamed in pain, physically, she waved her right hand, because, she could feel a sharp burning sensation in her right palm. Dracula then said in her dream, "Sweet dreams, BABY!" She saw him smile a sinister smile, again, and then he raised his black cape above his head, with both of his arms, and then disappeared. Rose woke up out of her dream, in a state of sheer fright  
  
12:45 A.M.  
  
Rose, frantically, fumbled for the switch that would turn on her table lamp, and a sense of relief flooded her body, when she found it, somehow, it served to wash out the fear, which had flooded into her body, as a result of the dream. However, she felt her right palm throbbing in pain, she looked down at it, and to her shock, she noticed that a round mark, with little points in it, in the shape of a ring, was burned into it! She immediately had flashbacks to her dream, and she could swear, she could hear sinister laughter in the room, which seemed to come from another dimension! Now, Rose, really felt confused, so confused, that she did something she really shouldn't have done. She walked to the mirror, which stood on top of her dresser drawer, and she held her right palm up to the mirror, and she saw a vision she would never forget.  
  
As she was holding her right palm up to the mirror, she blinked her eyes, as though she was being revisited by flashback visions, which she was. She saw nothing but a dull yellow smoke, as she was looking at the burn mark on her palm, and she saw the apparition of Dracula, dressed as a sinister gentleman, a devil in black gentleman's clothing, a 'great pretender' in the waiting of the long list of courtiers and suitors. She saw his grotesque, non-human face, which made him look like a monster, and it sent chills up her spine, when she saw this head on a human body. Dracula walked to her, and she could hear his voice echoing, as though it was coming from another dimension, as he said, "No need to worry, my darling, I am a 'God' and a 'demon' at once. My ability to trick is surpassed by my callousness for the human race. It is my duty to trick and deceive, and it is yours to be beguiled. I am the master at making a wolf appear to be a gentle lamb. Have no fear, when you're grown, you'll know and appreciate true love. I am the 'man' who makes people know the true meaning of the phrase 'hit by cupid's arrow' because I am the opposite of the 'God' cupid, I am his evil counter part!" It was then that Dracula disappeared. Rose looked at the wound, and saw that it was bleeding, she wiped the blood off with a Kleenex, and, she saw Dracula's apparition in the wound, and he was laughing at her. She felt her heart stop in shock. The apparition disappeared, and so did the wound mark. When Rose next looked at her right palm, she saw that it had completely healed. But, she immediately sensed a presence behind her. She looked in the mirror, and she saw Cal's apparition, and the sultry look in his eyes, really caught hers. His eyes looked as though they had found its prey, and were honing in on the kill! Cal stroked Rose's shoulders very gently and she heard him say, "Darling, I do apologize for the way I acted yesterday, but I just had to show a lady how to act, that's a gentleman's duty! Here's something to make up for the hurt feelings, darling!" Cal then stooped down, and kissed Rose, gently, on her right cheek. Rose felt a gentle peck, on her cheek, which moved her. Cal, then placed a holographic image of a Hope diamond necklace on her neck, and he smiled at her, and looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes, as he said, "For you, my darling!" in a voice which moved Rose, spiritually, and emotionally. Cal's apparition disappeared. But Rose felt much different about Cal. 'My God!' she thought to herself, 'what a gentleman!' She then climbed back into bed to sleep.  
  
Jasmine saw it differently however; she had been watching the entire encounter, from her invisible place in the spiritual realm. She chuckled to herself in amusement, as she thought, 'just another soul I HAVE to save! Poor Rose, she should have said, 'Cal is a BASTARD, after he blew me off, he tried to sucker me in, spiritually, with what has to be the oldest trick in the book that evil uses to bait innocent 'godly' people'. But, to no avail, she'll learn, and when she's matured, she'll know what the phrase, 'to be hit by Cupid's arrow,' means.'  
  
Night passed into day, and Rose woke up, feeling very good, that she had finally found her true Adonis in Cal! Boy was SHE in for a rude SHOCK! Rose got dressed, and she went downstairs. Ruth looked at her wryly as she said, "You're up early, and you're starting a TRADITION here!" Rose said, "Well, I just decided that there are other productive things to do in the morning, besides sleeping in!" Ruth gave Rose a very wry smile as she said, "I think Cal's the best thing that ever happened to you, he's helping you grow up!" Rose said, "Cal is a gentleman, I guess.but.well, he does have his good points!" Ruth responded with, "I'm sure he does, even evil had its good points!" Rose protested, "Mom! Cal is a gentleman!" Ruth replied, "Ah, my darling, there are gentlemen, and then there are pretenders, which is Cal?" Rose, tartly retorted, "why, Cal is a gentleman!" Rose bit into her bagel in a sign of defiance. Ruth shot Rose an off look from the corner of her eye, as she said, "Well. We'll see!" Rose hurried off to school.  
  
Rose went by her locker, when, lo and behold, she saw Cal there. Rose, immediately floated into a dream-like state, and she smiled, as she said, "Cal, I had a dream about you last night, where you appeared to me in the form of a true gentleman!" Cal smiled at her, as he walked behind her, and he lowered something onto her neck, and clasped it on. "It's a necklace," Cal told Rose, "It's the Hope necklace, which was King Louis XIV's wedding present for his wife. It's fit for a queen, and it's for this reason that I thought you should have it, MY QUEEN!" Rose felt elated. Without thinking, she rushed off to the bathroom, to look at it. Cal's eyes flashed a red glare of evil, and the shadow of Dracula slowly emerged from underneath his feet, as he said to himself, with a plotting look in his eyes, as he wrung his hands, "Yes! I've got her!"  
  
Rose went into the bathroom, so that she could look at the necklace. She was blinded by it. The necklace was composed of many small, bright white diamonds, and had a huge, blue diamond, as a pendant, in the middle. The reflection of the light from the white diamonds was so bright, that when Rose looked at the necklace in the mirror, she was blinded by what she saw! She put her arms in front of her face, as though she was trying to shield herself from the sheer brilliance of the necklace. She felt very elated as she walked out of the bathroom. In fact, she felt as though she was walking on a cloud. It was then that she saw Jack, and she saw that his jaw was wide open, and his lower jaw was almost touching the floor.  
  
"Rose.Rose." Jack stuttered, the words, almost gushing out of his mouth, "who gave you that?" Jack pointed, in amazement, in a state of speechlessness, at the necklace on her neck. Rose looked at Jack, and she said, in a very uninterested manner, "Oh, Cal did." Jack's eyes were, literally, popping out of his head, as he said, "Rose.Rose.the thing is a work of art, I mean.it's so beautiful, it MUST BE CURSED!" Rose gave Jack a startled look, "What do you say, Jack?" Jack took a few steps back, demurred, he silently whispered to himself, "Nothing, nothing.never mind, Rose." Jack continued, but, Rose noticed that Jack looked to the side of Rose and her necklace, as he was talking to her, as if he was deliberately trying to avoid looking into the blinding reflection that the necklace gave off, because he was trying not to get possessed, and mesmerized by it, "It's a nice necklace, Rose, I'm sure you really like Cal now!" It was then that Rose's spirit snapped, and her face fell, she looked down at the floor, in a state of despondence, to reflect the current state of disappointment, and confusion that she was experiencing, she said, in a very small voice, "No, Jack, that's not it.this necklace means NOTHING to me, I mean, it's NICE, but.I feel as though there's no substance to this necklace, just as I feel as though there's no substance to Cal, or our relationship, but I feel, fatally drawn to him. Every time I think about this necklace, I feel as though I'm the luckiest girl in the world, and I feel a wonderful feeling when I think that Cal gave me this necklace, and this feeling feels just like LOVE!" Rose gave Jack a very confused, distraught, and desperate look when she looked at him straight in the eyes as she was talking to him. Jack was taken aback when he saw the look in her eyes, which, appeared to him, to be a soul in distress, seriously crying out for help. The look in Rose's eyes was so dire that Jack didn't know how to react, so he put his right hand on her right shoulder and he said, in a very comforting voice, which was matched by a very comforting look on his face, "Don't worry Rose, no matter what, I'll always be there for you!" Rose saw the sincere, yet intense look in his eyes, which made his eyes look as though they were burning with an intense passion, and she was, genuinely, confused, because she had never seen such a look in anyone's eyes before. She wasn't familiar with the concept of the soul, and the spirit, as Jack was, but she could tell that, deep down inside, there was something in Jack that, genuinely, wanted to help Rose out. Rose stuttered, and gave Jack a helpless look as she gently said, "Jack, I love you!" Jack said, "Well, I'd better go to class." He turned around and walked away from her, but he shot her a backwards look as he said, "I love you too, Rose, that's why I'm here to help you." Rose looked down at the floor, feeling genuinely confused, she said to herself, in a state of deep thought, "Why would Jack be here to help me, from what? A mad chainsaw murderer? Oh please, that's the stuff of tabloids, what could possibly be so bad in my life that I would need saving from?"  
  
Poor Rose, she still didn't understand the concept of the spiritual realm. She didn't understand that there are powerful souls which lurk in the invisible spiritual realm, which can access peoples' souls, and affect their actions, thought patterns and behaviour in the physical realm, but Jasmine did, and Jasmine knew that Rose would soon find out about the spiritual realm.  
  
Rose and Jack were in Biology class. Rose sighed, because Biology was NOT her forte. She always wondered why she had to learn about things she would NEVER use. Rose found herself drawing, mindlessly, on a piece of paper, while the Biology teacher ranted on, and on about the genome, and talked about the exciting new discoveries that the field of Genetics was yielding. Rose, mindlessly, got out her Nokia, and began IM-ing Jack.  
  
Rose: So Jack, how are you?  
  
Jack: Not now Rose, I'm busy listening to the lecture!  
  
Rose: Oh, come now, Jack, SURELY, you can chat with your LADY LOVE!  
  
Now, Jack's brow wrinkled in confusion, 'Lady Love?' he thought to himself, 'I thought she was in love with Cal!' Then in hit Jack, 'Rose is CONFUSED!'  
  
Jack responded with the following message: Rose, let's talk after class. I think it would be really important for you!  
  
3:00 P.M.  
  
Rose and Jack met outside of Biology class. Jack was milling around. Rose asked Jack, in her piercing innocent voice, "Jack, you said you wanted to talk to me?" Jack looked Rose straight in the eye, and when he looked at her, he was caught by the deep and bright blue colour of her eyes, which reminded him of the ocean. "Look Rose, you always say you're in love with Cal, but then you act as though you're really in LOVE with ME! Now I know that the teen years are the time for hormones and feelings of 'puppy love' to run out of control, but." Then he came up closer to Rose (normally, he respected cultural norms for space, but this time, he felt Rose could benefit from a real heart to heart talk) "I think you're REALLY confused!" Rose became quite indignant, "I am not Jack!" Jack responded, "Ok, so WHY DID YOU IM ME IN CLASS?" Rose replied, "Well.well, I.well." Then it happened!  
  
Jasmine was watching everything from afar, and what happened was so instantaneous, that it reminded her of the effects of the price of a stock (when derivatives are being traded) the minute insider information (insider trading is illegal) regarding the stock price is leaked out to the public - the advantage that the person who harboured the inside information, which is reflected by an increase in the stock price, which is enjoyed only by the person who harbours the information (which is why insider trading is illegal in America, and in other mature economies, but not in Pakistan - you should see how insider trading information distorts stocks on the Pakistani stock exchange) disappears the minute the information is leaked to the public.  
  
My dear readers, imagine the example given to you by Jasmine of the effect of leaked insider information on the price of a stock as you read what Jack saw reflected on Rose's face, and what Rose felt.  
  
Jack saw that Rose's face, immediately, became quite florid, and ruddy, as though, somehow, she was being hit with special information and insights from the beyond, perhaps from a distant spiritual realm, which was invisible, and impermeable to the ordinary human experience! Perhaps, Jack reasoned, only certain humans had access to that information, which helped them see the world in ways that others, who didn't have access to this information couldn't. Jack felt like hitting himself, because he was an artist, 'but, for all of my artistic abilities, I seem to be unable to tap into this realm, as Rose can!' he thought to himself in frustration! Rose stuttered, as some sort of innate, and distant realization washed over her face. It reminded Jack of the experience he had seen people who had been hooked to illegal drugs face, when they finally sobered up to the bitter and harsh reality of their addiction. Rose, then looked, very meekly at Jack. She had a look of real helplessness on her face, and an even more helpless look was reflected in her eyes. When Jack saw this look in her eyes, he was very troubled, because, somehow, he could see a very innocent soul being trapped by some unforeseen power, when he looked into her eyes, and it disturbed her, because in all of his 17 years, he'd never seen anything like it! Then Rose looked down at the floor, the supine position.  
  
'Uh-oh,' Jack thought to himself. The supine position was a bad position because it indicated resignation, and an unwillingness to come to terms with the situation being faced at hand, it signaled a desire to hide behind fear, and childishness, it signaled a lack of self-confidence, and an unwillingness to become a stronger person, by facing harrowing battles in life. Jack KNEW there was a strong spiritual force in Rose, which could fight! He had seen it numerous times when he looked in her eyes. So, as he had done before, he, placed his right hand underneath Rose's chin, and he lifted it, so that she was making eye contact with him. Then Jack said in a stern tone, which reflected to Rose that he wasn't going to take any beating around the bush, "Now, Rose, you're going to tell me exactly what's bothering you." Rose turned her head away, and she looked like she was going to cry, as she said in a breaking and cracking voice, which broke Jack's heart, and made him feel like crying, "No, Jack.I can't.it's too hard." Then, Jack said in a gentler voice, which made Rose more willing to talk, "Do you think you can talk about some of it?"  
  
Then Rose turned towards him, looked him straight in the eye, and said, "Cal is a vampire, who's out to get me!" Jack stuttered, he was choking on his own saliva, "VAMPIRE! Oh, come on, ROSE, VAMPIRES DON'T EXIST!" Rose looked disappointed, her face fell, and she said, "Well, I should have known you'd never understand. I'd best go now." Before Rose could go anywhere, Jack put a firm grip on her right shoulder, and he said, "No Rose, I can see that this is bothering you, so I'm willing to listen." Rose said, "Let's go to the cafeteria." In a serious voice, and Jack could tell, by looking in her eyes, that she was damn serious!  
  
The Confession in the Cafeteria  
  
Rose looked around, once she and Jack had gotten to the cafeteria. Jack looked confused, if he didn't know any better, he'd swear that Rose was checking to see if anyone was around! 'Rose!" Jack asked in curiosity, "what are you doing?" Rose answered, "I'm checking if anyone's around." Then she closed the doors behind her. She approached Jack in a very serious manner, and it was then that Jack could feel every hair on his spine raise, in a state of fear. Rose's voice became very serious in tone, and very low, as she said, "Jack, yesterday, I had a dream in which I dreamt that Dracula was standing by me, by the lockers. He said something about always being in his grasp, once he'd gotten someone in his grasp. Then." Rose looked down at the floor sadly, as she said, "Then, today, Cal appeared and he gave me this necklace. I mean, I'd sworn Cal off last night as a bastard, but I saw him in my dream last night, after I saw Dracula. And the thing is that Cal, somehow, appeared in my room, and he put the Hope diamond on my neck. I was so enthralled by the necklace, that I, immediately, forgave Cal, on the spot. I was scared last night, and I told my mother about my dream, and she was NO help! Then this morning, as I was standing by the lockers, I saw Cal, again, ad I saw that he gave me the necklace, and I thought I was in love with him, but something tells me that he's not the one for me!" Rose looked up at Jack with a sad look in her eyes, which looked as though her soul was crying, probably for help.  
  
Rose continued, "Somehow, I feel trapped!" Jack sighed, "Yes, that's exactly what I thought, that's why I WANTED to talk to you. I had a feeling that SOMETHING FUNNY WAS ON YOUR MIND!" Rose said, "I think you're the one for me, but, somehow, you just feel SO far away. It's as though an invisible barrier is keeping you away from me!" Jack said, "You know, it's funny, because, as an artist, I paint the spiritual realm, through art, and I see invisible barriers all of the time. I try to capture the essence, and the souls of living things when I paint. I didn't really think much of it, until now, but, now that you mention that you think that there's an invisible barrier that's separating you and me, I am beginning to wonder if there are really such things!" Rose asked, "And about vampires, and Dracula!" Rose shuddered; somehow, mention of that 'mythological' creature was enough to send chills up her spine. Jack replied, "Well, I didn't ever think that such things really existed, and I don't know that I do now, but I am willing to believe that there may be forces, that we may not be able to sense with our human senses, which may inhabit Earth, and may influence the way we behave, and the way we interact with others. Perhaps your dreams are a sign that an invisible, and evil force is working through Cal, I mean, I never DID trust the guy, and perhaps, the barrier that you perceive between you and me, which you assert is invisible, signifies that there may be hurdles for us to overcome, before you and I can realize true love. Perhaps, we were the true soul mates, and not you and Cal!" Rose's face lit up, and she said, "You're very wise, Jack, I wish I had your insight." Jack said, "Well, I'm an artist, and I think that helps."  
  
Jack walked Rose home. As Rose was getting ready to go into her house, Jack looked at the necklace, and said, "In some ways, I think you're lucky, because there aren't many in this world who would have gotten such a necklace!" Rose asked, "What do you know about this necklace?" Jack shrugged, in a matter of fact way, "Not much, except that it's rumoured to be cursed. But I don't place much stock in rumours or legends. I mean I may be a more spiritual person, because I'm an artist, but I'd like to see tangible evidence regarding a phenomenon before I believe it. In that way I'm scientific minded. Most people don't think of artists as being scientific minded, but we do reproduce nature, in a more emotional form, and you need to have a lot of scientific knowledge and understanding to do that!"  
  
Rose went into her house, and she went up to her room. She took the necklace off of her neck, and she placed it, lying face up, on her bed. The millions of little white sparkles, which the white diamonds gave off, as the light reflected off of it, impressed her. What caught her eyes even more was the fact that the light from the fixtures in the ceiling, seemed to play ff of the blue diamond, which somehow, appeared to have powers different from the other diamonds, or perhaps, that was just Rose's imagination.  
  
Rose went about her business, as usual, and for her, the necklace was nothing but a 'nice piece of jewellery' but Jasmine knew differently. Jasmine knew that the necklace was part of a long and harrowing spiritual test to see where Rose's loyalties really lie. Since the beginning of time, legends, ancient and modern have talked about 'tests' that spiritual forces, which were invisible to humans, would put humans through, to see how strong they were, to see where their loyalties really lie, or to help them mature. Jasmine knew that this was happening with Rose. Jasmine knew that, while the process could be painful, the end result would be to make the person much stronger, and to mature the person. In Rose's case, this would happen, and she would find 'true love.' However, Jasmine knew that Cal would be hard to quit for Rose, because Cal was 'evil' and, when people are hurting, as Rose was, or when people are confused, as Rose was, 'evil' always appeals, because 'evil' offers the 'illusion' of power and greatness, which appeals to such people. However, 'evil' and its powers are an 'illusion' because 'evil' promises a lot, and yields nothing, because 'evil' has no power, instead, it gets its strength by feeding off of the spiritual energy of people. Rose, would, in her spiritual struggle, encounter a force opposite 'evil', which was 'good' the penultimate of it, which was an abstract force, which held the most awesome love, which healed all wounds, in the universe, many referred to this force as 'God' and over the centuries, different people, from Moses, to Arjuna, had different ideas of what this force was, and how to reach it. There has been no consensus reached, and there never will be. But one thing that people who really experienced this force always agreed on was the fact that the force was 'eye-opening' and maturing, in that it helped them see the world in ways that they hadn't before. Such would be the case with Rose. 


End file.
